No.
“We’ve been getting on so well.”
No.
“These past days together...they’ve been special. You brought something out of me that I didn’t even know I had.”
“Ricky,” I whispered, wanting to stop him from going on.
“The scene that I just shot wouldn’t have happened without you.”
“Rick.”
“But it’s not just that. It’s the way you have with me. The way you look at me. The way you talk to me. You don’t treat me like some teen idol. You don’t look at me as some Hollywood star. You look at the real me. And you make me feel...”
“Stop, Ricky. Please, just stop.”
His smile faded, and he sat back to look at me. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t, Ricky. I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“Whatever it is that this conversation is leading to. I can’t start a serious relationship with you. I can’t keep seeing you as if we were a couple. I can’t...I can’t be with you that way.”
I stood to run out, tears flowing down my cheeks. “I can’t love you,” I mumbled as I ran to the door.
“Darling, wait,” he called as he grabbed my hand and pulled me back inside.
“Ricky.Please let go. I can’t. I can’t be with you. There’s nothing more to say.”
“But youhavebeen with me. Wehavebeen together. We’re good together. Darling, we’re great together.”
His eyes were red and filled with pain, but it didn’t change the way I felt about him. I pulled free of his hold and ran away.
FIFTEEN
