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I’m about to look away when I see them—the crutches. I suck in a sharp breath, meeting his gaze. “What happened?”
“An accident. I tore my ACL again, but it’s healing.” He shifts his weight as if he’s uncomfortable under my gaze. “If you want me to leave…”
“I… No.” I shake my head. “Of course not.”
Of course not? What the hell, Jade?
You need him to go. You need him…
As if he can read the panic on my face, Prescott looks at me. “It’s okay if you want me to leave.”
“No,” I repeat, this time slower. “Really. It’s fine. We have the same friends.”Same friends, right? I nod. “Besides, this isn’t about you or me. It’s about Rei.”
“It’s starting!” Penny yells from the living room.
I move to the side, letting them pass. Spencer makes another attempt at an apologetic smile, but I’m not buying it. He knew I’d be here. He knew Prescott and I had broken up. Yet still, he invited him here?
Prescott steps closer, close enough that his tall frame enters my personal space, a wisp of shampoo, cologne, and something that’s just plain Prescott washes over me. Keeping my eyes level with his chest, I inhale deeply, memorizing that fragrance, that familiar ache squeezing my heart.
Damn, I missed it.
I missedhim.
“I mean it, Jade, if you’d rather…”
“Just get inside, Wentworth,” I say, my fingers digging into the doorknob to stop myself from doing something stupid. Something like reaching for him, burying myself into his side, and never letting go. “I’m not missing Rei’s performance, so either you get in, or you go home.”
“We’re back to Wentworth, huh?”
A few heartbeats pass as we just stare at one another. Half of me wants him to go so I can finally breathe easier, but the other half? It wants to dig my fingers into him and never let him walk away.
Will this ever get easier? Being around him? Will it ever feel like I’m not drowning in him?
“I’m here. I was just—” Grace’s words die when she steps into the hallway and notices Prescott and me standing together. “What’s going on here?” Her gaze shifts to Prescott, eyes narrowing. “What areyoudoing here?”
“I’ll just…”
“He came with Spencer. Their TV isn’t working,” I explain. “I told him to stay. Now,ifhe would get his ass inside, I can finally watch Rei skate.” I quirk my brow at him, putting all I have left of the bravado into that one movement.
I gave him an in—God knows why, but I did—now it was up to him to take it.
Finally, after what feels like forever, Prescott nods. He steps the rest of the way inside, and I close the door. My eyes fall shut as I take a moment to collect myself. When I turn around, I find Grace watching me with worried eyes, but I look away, my fingers curling around the cup in my hand. Coffee, right.
“I’m going to grab a fresh mug,” I say to no one in particular as I walk back into the main area, going straight for the sink and spilling cold coffee down the drain before putting my mug under the machine for a fresh cup.
Penny and Spencer are chatting as the skaters warm up on the ice. Prescott appears in the doorway, looking around as if he’s expecting to be thrown out any second now, and behind him are Grace and Mason.
“You guys want anything to drink?” I ask, needing to do something before I go crazy.
“You have Coke?” Spencer asks, and others throw in their drink orders. Grace grabs them as I pull them out and distributes them. Until there’s only one person left.
He’s sitting on the couch talking with Mason. He must feel my gaze because he looks up, those dark eyes meeting mine.
“What about you?”
“Coffee’s fine.”
The coffee machine beeps. “Okay. Coffee.”
