"Do you want to hand this to Miss Singh, or should I?"
"Grace."
"I will, then." I slid the papers into a clear plastic pocket and gently placed them into my school bag.
Harrison sighed, sounding dejected. "So we're done, then?"
I turned and walked away.
We got an A+ in our assignment. As we fucking should. Harrison had approached me after class, grinning delightedly. I stiffly nodded before brushing past him to get to my locker. I still didn't understand why Harrison was so friendly to me, especially in public, but I didn't trust him.
I managed to avoid him for two weeks—it was relatively easy to do considering we ran in different social circles. If he was lunching in the cafeteria, I took my meal outside. If he was loitering near my locker, I circled back to where I came from.
The only contact I couldn't avoid was his texts, which came through daily. One in the morning—a silly joke that may or may not have made me smile before quickly being replaced with a scowl. He also sent one after school, where he gave me a brief snapshot of his day. But it was his nightly texts that made my heart soar—confusingly.
The messages weren't significant—just a simple"goodnight, Gracie"followed by a smiley face.
I probably should block his number like I had done before. I didn't want to examine too closely why I had yet to do so.
***
"Can we start over?"
My head jerked up at the sound of his voice.
Damn, I was rumbled. I had study hall and usually just headed home if it was my last class. But that day, I decided to read a couple of college-level textbooks at the public library.
"Start over?" I parroted.
"Yeah." He sat down in the empty chair in front of me. He was wearing a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans. His muscles bulged underneath his shirt. His hair was wet again, and it took me back to that evening when he ambushed me in my bedroom. God, that felt like so long ago.
I got a whiff of his clean soap smell as he leaned over the desk. My stupid teenage hormones were going haywire.
"I know you hate me, and probably for good reason–"
"Probably?"The gall of him.
He blew a breath out. "Okay, for a very good reason." He shifted uncomfortably, dropping his gaze.
"I figured it wasyouthat hated me. For the record, I never had a problem with you."
"Duly noted." His lips quirked before quickly appearing somber. "And for the record, I've never hated you." His brown eyes flickered up to clash with mine. "Far from it."
My breath hitched at the emotion behind his stare.
"So what do you want from me?"
"I want to start over." He leaned forward. "Clean slate."
I folded my arms and raised a skeptical brow. "And what, forget everything you've done to me over the years?"
"No, Grace. I don't expect you to forget. Maybe in time, I will have the guts to explain some things to you. But for now, I'll settle for friendship?"
My brow lifted. "Friendship is a strong word. How about strangers who pass each other in the hall without bothering one another? You know, kinda like how you treat every other studentbutme in this school who isn't in your precious clique?"
"Ouch."
I flashed him a tight smile before picking up my textbook.
