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“You don’t have to do this, Drake,” she said.
“I know I don’t have to, but if I don’t, you’ll walk right out that door and out of my life. I don’t want to lose what we’ve been able to find.”
“We haven’t really done anything.”
“The last couple of weeks have been the best of my life. A guy who has everything and he can count in weeks how good it has been.” He stared down at their hands. “I’m not trying to get sympathy.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t show you any.”
He chuckled. “Just don’t walk away from this. Please, I know I’ll fuck up. I’ll make mistakes.”
“Drake, you’re not superhuman. You need to stop apologizing for everything. I overreacted. You’ve got to learn to trust me, I get it. You’re not used to trusting people or them telling you the truth. I can promise you I will tell you the truth, always.” She gave his hands a squeeze. “Don’t give me a reason to really walk out that door.”
“You mean I can piss you off a couple of times?”
She laughed. “I doubt we’re going to agree on much, but I can see us being really good friends if we try. I know when I’m around you, I love being with you, and I do think about you when you’re not there.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Do you think about me?”
She looked nervous and he couldn’t think of a single reason for her to be so.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Really?”
“That surprise you?”
“I guess it does. I never think of you and me and you know, all the other stuff in between.”
“I’m sure I’m not the first guy to think about you and want a hell of a lot more than what I’m getting.”
“Nah, I don’t believe it.”
“You’ve got a low opinion of yourself.”
She snorted. “For years, you’ve told me I’m not pretty enough. I’ve seen the kind of girls you go for.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. The words fell out of his mouth with ease. He didn’t like apologizing to anyone about anything. Most of the time, he truly didn’t believe he was in the wrong.
“What for?”
“For all the shitty things I’ve said to you. I didn’t mean them, and if you believed them, please stop.”
“You don’t mean all of those things weren’t true.”
“I do.”
She shook her head.
“Pru, I mean it.”
“So you don’t think I’m a smartass? Or a know-it-all? You don’t think I should give someone else a chance to get it right?”
He couldn’t help but smile.
“Or how about calling me a nerd, or a bookworm? Those have no meaning?”
“You’re being a smartass right about now.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes I’ve got to accept that you mean what you say. Other stuff can be said in the heat of the moment. Not all of it. I don’t believe everything we say to each other is true.”
“Is there anything you’ve said to me you regret?” he asked.
She sat back, pulling her hands away with her as she did. He wanted her touch more than anything, and he didn’t like feeling her withdraw.
“You don’t have to think too hard about it.”
“I do though. I can’t think of anything I regret saying to you. Every single time I’ve lashed out, it has always been in the heat of the moment. I don’t know.” She frowned. “Is there anything I’ve said that you’ve hated?”
“You’ve called me rich boy.”
“Drake, you are a rich boy.”
“Can’t help who I am.”
“I hate it when you call me trash.”
“It does?”
“Yeah, it makes me feel quite sick. It’s hard to explain.”
“Try, please, for me.”
“I know when we head back to school, if we’re still doing what we’re doing, then it’s going to start up. I guess deep down, I believe you when you call me trash.”
He wanted to hold her. To kiss those pretty lips and tell her she had nothing to be upset about because she was the furthest thing from trash.
“I’m not wealthy. My family, we’ve struggled all my life and when you say it, I feel like I’m exactly that. I try not to let it bother me but, it does, and I can’t help it.”
He saw tears in her eyes.
She sniffled, looking away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to cause a scene.”
“You haven’t. You’ve been completely honest with me, and I appreciate that.” He wanted to hold her, but he’d have to get up, and he didn’t want anyone turning to look at them. This was his and Pru’s time. No one else had a right to barge in on them. This was going to be one of those rare times he got her to himself. “You’re not trash, Pru. I’m an asshole, but you will never be trash. I’m an idiot for calling you that.”
“How about we forget all the bad shit we’ve said to each other and move on?”
“You want to do that?”
“I know we’re going to have to change the rules come high school, and we’ll deal with them then. We’ve got a couple of weeks left until school starts. When are your folks back?”
