Regardless of her reservations, it didn’t stop her from peering his way at every opportunity. With dirty-blond hair, alluring green eyes, and a lone dimple that peeked out whenever he smiled, he was extremely handsome. I couldn’t fault my best friend for finding him irresistible.
The sensation of a familiar palm drifting over my bare thigh disrupted my train of thoughts, arousing goosebumps and fomenting tension anew. My back straightened like an arrow.
I refrained from casting Hunter a glance.
But his hand paused on my knee and upturned in wait.
Almost beseechingly.
Almost asking me to accept him and claim him as mine in front of everyone.
The connection that joined us, forever pulsating in the background, began to thrum as fast as my heartbeat…and because I couldn’t deny this man, I slid my hand over his and he braided our fingers together in a worshipping clasp.
Relief echoed through the chamber of my soul and I exhaled, feeling calmer.Steadyandsolid. Because of my lighthouse.
That feeling was short-lived.
Josh, deciding that he was done giving Layla smooches, propped his head up from her neck and fixated on Hunter andme. “So,” he drawled. “Was this a date? Did you two finally get together and—”
“No!” I suddenly snapped before I could fully process what I was saying, running purely on the fear caroming in my system. “I-it wasn’t a date. We’re friends. We were just hanging out. It’s not like that between us and…”
I regretted it the second I uttered the sentences.
Because next to me, Hunter froze, a ghost-like expression misting over his face. A mixture of surprise, disappointment, and—more prominently—betrayal swam in his blue eyes.
I hated myself for being the cause of his pain.
He dropped my hand like it was a scorching touch rather than something that anchored us both.
A sense of foreboding crawled down my spine like an eight-legged creature.
Josh and Sam frowned at Hunter in confusion.
Anna and Layla eyed me in disbelief.
And I sat there, trembling under the weights of their stares. Incapable of defending myself. Incapable of salvaging the situation. Incapable of doing anything but anticipating the verdict; Hunter’s gavel-pounding reply that would determine the outcome of our relationship moving forward.
Finally, Hunter broke the heavy silence, speaking with a blank voice, and his words nicked me like tiny blades. “She’s right. It’s not like that between us. We’re justfriends.”
CHAPTER 18
Not The End Of Us
Gabriela
It had been three days since I last saw Hunter.
Three days since the shitshow where my friends caught us.
And three days since Hunter opened any of my texts.
Safe to say, my anxiety peaked to a new high and a heavy block of guilt rested on my chest. I hadn’t realized how accustomed I’d gotten to Hunter’s presence that not conversing with him for a mere seventy-two hours felt like a drought. All my feelings of elation from Friday dried out like the desert.
My goodness, Gabriela. He spent time planning a romantic stargazing night for you. He gave you his football jersey, an annotated copy of your favourite book, and a handcrafted bookmark from the roses you gifted him. And you told that man and everyone in the room who was listening that you’re onlyfriends? No wonder he hasn’t replied to any of your messages.
Just picturing Hunter gently peeling away petals from the roses and inserting them into a resin bookmark with glitter, reading a paranormal romance book with a pen and highlighter so he could write his thoughts in the margins, and packing food in a wicker basket to bring on what I now know was a date—where he recreated one of my favourite book scenes—made my heart clench.
Oh, God.
