Once I was free from the mass of people, I jogged toward the exit. I would have run if I hadn’t been wearing these ridiculously high heels.
I made my way to the elevators and jammed my finger into the down button.
"C'mon, c'mon," I said under my breath, continuing to push the button even though it was already lit up.
Finally the doors slid open, and I hurried inside. After pushing the button for the first floor, I jammed my finger on the door close button over and over again.
"Scarlet, wait!" Rush's voice carried down the hall.
I begged the doors to close faster. I didn’t want to see him. I needed some time to get control of my emotions. If I talked to him now, I was pretty sure I would yell and cry and scream and make a huge scene. It would be better for both of us if I left.
Rush's face appeared in the sliver of an inch remaining open from the elevator doors closing.
"Scarlet, please," he begged, his eyes desperate.
But I turned my head, looking down, not able to look at him.
Tonight was the first time since we'd started dating that I felt like his dirty little secret. Yeah, he hadn't meant to hurt me tonight, but that didn't take away from the fact that he had. And how many more times was I supposed to sit there and let it keep happening because it was against the rules to be together?
Zero.
Zero was how many more times I would let it happen. I'd dealt with it long enough, and I wouldn't do it anymore. I cared about Rush, possibly loved him, but I couldn't keep living like this. Iwouldn'tkeep living like this. Giving him up would hurt too, I knew that, but I hoped it would be a hurt that would be easier to swallow. It was time for both of us to move on.
13
Rush
"Shit!" I pounded on the closed elevator door.
This couldn't be happening. I'd seen the look in her eye. She was done. Done with pretending, done with hiding, done withme.
Hurrying to the stairwell, I ran down the stairs, jumping the last half of each set of stairs in an effort to reach the lobby before she left.
I had to talk to her. I needed to explain that I'd never wanted to kiss someone else on New Year's Eve, or any other time for that matter. It had all just happened so fast. One second, I'd been counting down with my friends, trying to forget that it wasn't Scarlet under my arm, and then the next second, Natalia had been kissing me. It had taken me a moment to realize what was happening.
From Scarlet's point of view, I could see that I might have taken too long to pull away. I'd been caught off guard, surprised that Natalia was kissing me. But now thinking about it, I probably shouldn't have been. I'd spent the whole evening with Natalia, and she'd probably assumed we would kiss at midnight. The only reason I had stayed with her was because it was easier to pretend with one girl than lots of girls. Crappy excuse, I know.
Having Coach Matthews there too, who seemed to be watching my every move, hadn't helped either. I may have laid it on a little too much with Natalia, hoping to show that I was interested in her and not his stepdaughter. Keeping my eyes off Scarlet had been a major test of my self-control. After looking at her for the millionth time and worrying that I was giving us away, I'd told myself that I wasn't going to look at her for the rest of the night. I'd done a great job too, until Natalia had kissed me. Then everything had gone downhill.
Scarlet had run out of the room, with me following her shortly after. If Coach Matthews had seen that, it wouldn't take a lot to put two and two together, that I was the football player she'd been talking about, the one she wanted to be with but couldn't. And now I had hurt her, just like he'd thought one of us would do. He had been right to make her hands-off for the football team.
But when I saw the devastated look on her face, her eyes filled with hurt and possibly anger, I had to go after her no matter the consequences. I was afraid that image would haunt me for the rest of my life.
Pushing through the metal door, it hit the wall with a loud bang, causing a few people on the main floor to glance over. Ignoring their stares, I ran toward the elevators but stopped when I saw Scarlet about to walk out the entrance doors. I ran faster, cutting her off.
Gently grabbing her elbow, I breathed out in a huff, "Please don't go."
She seemed startled by my appearance and eventually removed my hand from her arm. "I can't be here anymore." Her eyes were cold and distant, looking at me like I was a stranger.
"Fine, I'll go too," I said, latching on to her words in an effort to bring her back to me. "We can finally go back to my place and have the evening we've both been wanting all night," I suggested, bringing my hand up to cup her face, but she turned her head to avoid my touch.
"Scarlet," I said, my voice breaking. "I'm sorry. It meant nothing."
I knew I'd said the wrong thing when her gaze returned to mine and the emotionless look she'd had earlier was now gone. Fury burned in her eyes as she glared at me.
"It meant nothing?" she said, her voice rising. "Maybe toyouit meant nothing, but tomeit meant something. It meant a whole lot of something. Actually it meanteverything."
My brows creased. "What do you mean?"
