AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But neither of us did anything about it after, and I'm tired of pretending it didn't happen.
"If you have zero desire to kiss me, then I'll drop it. But I don't think this is one-sided." My heart races as my confession spews out.
Payton stares at me like he's frozen in shock, and after several seconds pass, I'm convinced he's going to leave me high and dry.
Instead of staying and being humiliated by his silence, I stand to walk away. He’s given me his answer by not saying anything at all.
"Kate," he murmurs, grabbing my hand as I step around him. "I'm not saying no because I don't want to kiss you. I do, but I'm terrified of losing you. You're in the mood for this tonight, but you might regret it tomorrow. I don't want it to seem like I'm taking advantage of you because I care way too much about you."
“Would you rather see me fall in love with someone else?” I ask but don't bother to wait for a response before I go to my room.
Now I've made it awkward and weird as fuck.
And my heart is shattered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
PAYTON
I can't believe I just let her walk away like that.
After years of pining after the woman of my dreams, I froze. Made excuses.
Our relationship has shifted over the past several months, and I’ve tried to stay true to what she wanted in the beginning. But now I’m conflicted.
Does she actually have feelings for me, or does she just need me to scratch an itch?
My desire for Kaitlyn has been something I've pushed away for years, shoved to the back of my mind, and kept locked in a box.
And now she's begging me to break our rules.
The first time she brought it up over a month ago, I figured it was just a fluke and she'd never share the same feelings as me.
I hadn't expected her to bring it up again, and I really didn't anticipate her asking if what was going on between us was one-sided.
Fuck.
How the hell could she ever think I wouldn’t want her?
As my head and heart fight between taking the risk or playing it safe, memories of us together flood my mind.
Were her feelings there all along? Or did they form recently?
Does it fucking matter?
Getting to my feet, I head toward her room with my nerves on fire. It's now or never.
I blow out a breath, lean against the doorframe, then knock.
"Kate, open up," I say when she doesn't answer. "Please."
Footsteps pad on the other side, and I take note of her blotchy cheeks when she finally reveals herself.
She's been crying.
Her gorgeous blue eyes look at me as I stare down at her. Then she crosses her arms, refusing to speak. So I just blurt everything out.
"I can't tell you how long I've had feelings for you because I can't remember a time when I didn't have them. From the moment we met, I was drawn to you. Something unexplainable makes me want to be around you all the goddamn time. Once we formed a friendship, I was content with that because after my ex, I’d sworn off workplace relationships. But no matter what I did, my feelings for you didn't go away. They only grew stronger and harder to deny."
