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“I need to—”
“You were right to suspect him. For all I know, it could be the janitor or someone in his forties. No. I’m done. I want to have fun with my friends and not think about him anymore.”
“Are you sure?” I search her eyes.
She nods resolutely. “I’m done with him.”
I intake a sharp breath. “But don’t you want to know who he—?”
She squeezes my hands. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. He’s taken too much space in my heart and in my life. I almost lost my straight-A streak because of him. No. Not anymore.” She smiles at me. “Come, Liam. Let’s enjoy what’s left of this wonderful night.”
I let her lead me to the table our friends are seated at. Xavier pulls over a chair for her and she sits down, accepting the plate of food I saved for her.
“I’m not talking about him anymore,” she informs the rest of the group. “I want to have fun and pretend he never existed. If he wants to talk to me, he knows who I am.”
Lily looks like she’s about to cry. “I’m so sorry. Did I encourage you to fall for him? I should have protected you.”
She shakes her head. “The only person to blame is him. He played with my emotions and made me feel like I was special.”
Willow pins her eyes on me. I avert my gaze.
“Youarespecial,” I tell her. “You don’t need a secret admirer to tell you that.”
The others nod in agreement.
We talk about random things before Lily, Xavier, Ava, and Aidan leave to join the others on the dance floor. Willow, Chloe, and I remain.
Willow eye-signals me to do something, but I have no idea what she wants. She gets to her feet. “I’m going to check if there’s another game or activity I can do.” She gives me another face, urging me to tell Chloe the truth, then walks off.
Chloe watches her with furrowed brows. “Why was she in such a hurry to leave?”
“Guess she really loves exercising her brain. So, uh, how are you?”
She smiles. “Much better. You and the others always lift my spirits.” She glances around some more, maybe hoping to find her guy.
I shift closer to her. “So, Chloe—”
She holds up her hand. “I know what you’re going to say. That you’re sorry things didn’t work out. And while I appreciate it, I don’t want to talk about him. Can you…” Her face washes with sorrow. “Can you distract me so I won’t think about him? I tried to be brave in front of the others, but I’m feeling really crappy. Please help me.”
“Sure. Anything.”
“Dance with me?”
I swallow. “You want to dance with me?”
“Please.”
“Of course.” I stand and hold out my hand to her. She forces a small smile and places her hand in mine.
I lead her to the dance floor, my heart thumping in my chest. I know it won’t mean anything to her, but it’ll mean the world to me. But I don’t deserve it.
How can I refuse her wish, though? If she needs to dance with me to distract herself from the pain I caused her, then I’ll do anything for her.
On the dance floor, I swing her toward me, accidentally crashing her into my chest. “Sorry!”
She laughs. “It’s okay.”
We just stand there looking at each other.
