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“Actually, it’s sort of the opposite.”
“The opposite?” Her head tilted to the side.
“Yeah. I know that we’ve only known each other for a few days, but I’ve never felt what I feel for you. I think about you all the time when I’m not with you. When I know I’m going to see you, I count the minutes. Literally. When I don’t know when I’m going to see you again, I’m…I’m restless. I check my phone to make sure I haven’t missed a call or a text from you. And every time your name isn’t there—which is every time because you’ve never actually used my number even though I know you have it—my heart sinks.
“I can’t think straight. I’m anxious. Cranky. I know that this is probably just a fling for you. But it’s more than that for me. I’ve never met anyone like you. I just want to be near you. We don’t even have to talk. Just being near you is enough. But I love it when you talk. I can’t wait to hear what you’re going to say next.”
Especially now.
She stared at me with an expression so blank, I thought she might be doing the mannequin challenge. I couldn’t tell if she was speechless because she was shocked or if it was because she had to let me down and wasn’t sure how she was going to do it.
I never knew how loud silence could be. Bella not saying anything was deafening.
Any self-respecting Southern gentleman would’ve bowed out of the conversation and given the lady an out. That gentleman might’ve asked her to think about it, and then retreated. But I’d never claimed to be such a gentleman. So I forged ahead.
“I know you live in New York, and I’m not saying that we need to be exclusive or anything. I mean, that’s what I’d like. I want to be with you, officially, but I understand if that’s not what you want. But either way, whatever label we put on it, I just want to keep seeing you, talking to you, spending time with you. I don’t want this to end when you leave Firefly.”
The first clue to what she might be feeling was when her lips turned up in a huge smile. But right after that, they fell and she inhaled a shaky breath. In the next breath, the corners of her mouth curled up and I thought she was going to smile again, but then her bottom lip quivered and a single tear fell down her right cheek.
I felt like I was watching her spin the Wheel of Emotions. I prayed that she would land on the grand prize.
“Bella.” I stepped forward and reached out my hand.
She retreated and shook her head as another tear joined the first.
My stomach sank. She’d landed on lose a turn, at least. I just hoped she wasn’t on bankrupt.
