“Fine.” I tap the spoon hard against the pot and set it on the counter. Turning to Quinn, who has been doing her best to pretend nothing is going down with Luke and me, I chirp, “Back in a minute, Q.”
“Yep,” she says as she busily gets the garlic bread ready for the oven.
He follows me to my bedroom. Crossing over the threshold to my room, I wait for him to move into my personal sanctuary, then shut the door. I cross my arms in front of me and snap, “What?”
“Nice room.”
He’s looking at my bedroom?
When he opens up my closet door, I want to scream, but I don’t. “Wow, great closet. I get why you like this place. The bathroom is nice too.”
I’m not doing this. “What. Do. You. Want?”
Hell, I should just ask him why he’s here. Why did he come to this dinner party?
Shutting the closet door, he takes two steps closer to me. “Look.” Running his fingers through his hair—which is getting pretty long, actually—he sighs. “I’m sorry how things ended.”
Ended?
I hate that word. I don’t mean to, but my palm goes to that spot right over my heart; then I quickly remember myself and let it drop down to my side.
“There was nothing wrong with you kissing me. It just can’t happen again.”
I’m blinking. That’s it. I’m not even sure I’m breathing, but I must be. “What are you saying?”
He shakes his head. “Just that. You shouldn’t feel bad that you kissed me.”
What a jerk. “I don’t.”
“Sure you do. You’ve got guilt written all over you. Don’t feel bad about it. It was nothing.”
The pain in my chest is now radiating out. Am I having a heart attack? No. It’s not that kind of pain. This kind is more embarrassment.
It was nothing?
I certainly didn’t think it was nothing.
“I’ll still be your friend.”
I need to get my shit together. This guy is talking way too much. “Well, gee, Luke.” I scoff because I’m having a hard time processing all of thisfucking bullshit. “While I appreciate you granting me theprivilegeof being your friend”—I reach for the doorknob—“I decline.” I pull on the door, but it won’t budge. I look down and see Luke’s giant foot is blocking it from moving.
“Tayler….”
I shake my head. “No.” Looking up at him, I feel a sense of loss I can’t really explain. “I know how friendship works, Luke. And you aren’t good at it.” I jab a finger at his hard chest. “It’s all Luke all the time. Everything is on your terms, and that’s not how friendship works.”
Luke rolls his eyes, and I’d laugh if I weren’t pissed and hurting. “I know how it works too, and friends don’t kiss friends.”
“See?” I quip. “That’s the difference. I have feelings for you. The ‘more than friends’ kind of feelings.” Shit. I shouldn’t have admitted that, but it’s out there now. “That makes the friend-zone thing difficult.”
“I have feelings for you too, Tayler. Only mine are the ‘fuck you once so I can forget about you’ kind of feelings.”
I jerk my head back in shock. I mean, that hurt. I feel the familiar burn of tears behind my eyes, but I won’t let him see. “Well, then.” I place my hand on his chest and push, hoping he gets the hint and moves away from the door. But he doesn’t. “Move,” I snap. “Let me out. I have real friends in the other room. People who were actually invited—”
“I was invited.”
Not by me.“Please. Move.”
“Tayler, come on.”
