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“Miles, we’ve been over this. We don’t work together.” I took his hand in mine. “You’re one of my best friends. We work better as friends.”
“We can’t go back to being just friends, not after everything we’ve shared.” His eyes twinkled as if he thought it might convince me of all the good times we’d had.
There had been some too. Fun dates and some hot and heavy moments over at his house. But something was always missing. And when my entire life was mapped out for me, I didn’t want to settle for a relationship that didn’t set me on fire.
Miles was safe. A good guy. The kind of guy who would hold open the door and pay the check. He was sturdy and dependable, and that was great… if I was looking for my future husband.
I wasn’t though.
I wanted excitement. Something wild and reckless. Something extraordinary. I wanted my first great love to leave its mark on me. To be able to look back on high school in twenty years and remember the intensity and passion. I wanted—
“Celeste?”
“Sorry, what?” I blinked up at Miles, and he frowned.
“You weren’t listening to a word I said just now, were you?”
“Sorry, it’s been a long week.”
He stood up abruptly and ran a hand through his hair, dejection rolling off him in waves. “Obviously this was a mistake. I should go.”
“I… if that’s what you want.”
“What happened to you, Celeste?” His lips pursed. “I can make you happy, I know I can. Yet, you won’t even give me a chance.”
“I gave you a chance, Miles. More than one. But if it’s not there, it’s not there.” I gave him a sad, apologetic smile. “I don’t want to fight with you, but that’s my decision. If you can’t respect that—”
“Yeah, whatever. I guess I’ll see you around.” He stormed away, taking the air with him.
I let out a heavy sigh, watching him leave the bowling alley. The couple on the next lane over gave me a sympathetic smile, obviously having overheard some of our conversation. Part of me wanted to ask them how long they’d been dating and whether they were both happy. But that would lead to me asking them if they were aware that over half of all marriages in the country ended in divorce or separation. Fifty percent. That meant that they had a less than one in two chance of making it.
It hardly seemed worth it.
Unless you were my half-sister Harleigh Wren and her boyfriend Phoenix Wilder. They had that once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. It was hard not to look at them and be overcome with churning jealousy. The way Nix looked at her, his eyes brimming with pure adoration. No way in hell would they end up a statistic. They were the real deal. A modern-day Romeo and Juliet but without all the tragedy and death.
As Michael Rowe and Sabrina Delacorte’s daughter, my future was mapped out before me. I would graduate high school top of my class, attend Columbia, start dating a like-minded guy who instantly gained my parents’ approval, and live the life they had always dreamed for me.
I was lucky.
At least, that’s what everyone around me thought. I wanted for nothing and had the world and everything that came with it at my fingertips.
But lately, I felt restless. Confined by the expectations placed on me. Caged even. I had spent my entire life coloring inside the lines, being the daughter they expected me to be. There was so much more to me than the girl who knew the square root of pi to eight decimal points though.
After another minute of watching the couple, I grabbed my purse and left. Digging my cell phone out of it, I opened up my chat with Harleigh and her friend Chloe.
Me: Are you still at the res?
Clo: Yeah, why?
Me: Talk with Miles didn’t end well. I’m heading over to you now.
Harleigh: Maybe you should go home. It’s getting late and your parents will worry.
I rolled my eyes at that. Harleigh had recently moved out of our house and in with Nix and his stepmom Jessa.
I didn’t blame her. Her relationship with our father was strained, and her relationship with my mom almost non-existent. For as much as I hated not having her around anymore, I knew it was for the best.
Me: It’s not that late. I’m coming. See you soon.
