I swallow hard because my throat feels all closed up. I’m ashamed to say what I do next, but it always worked with Dylan. Want a guy to leave you alone? Cry. So, that’s what I do. Those tears that were sitting below the surface are now pouring from my eyes. It works too. Luke backs up enough for me to yank the door open. Then he wraps his arm around me from behind, hauling me back into my bedroom. The door slams shut and I’m off the ground.
“Luke.” It’s watery sounding but audible. “Put me down.”
“No,” he says, walking toward my bed.
“Yes. Dinner’s almost ready.”
“It’ll wait.” He says it as he spins around so he can sit on my mattress.
Luke’s still got his arms around me, but I’m no longer off the ground. My feet are planted between his legs. Thankfully, I’m facing away from him. I haven’t stopped crying, but it’s slowed some.
“Tayler.” His voice is soft. “I know that was hard for you to hear, but it’s the truth.”
God, every time I think he’s going to say something nice, he fucking doesn’t.
“There will never be anything romantic between us.”
I just nod because if I speak, it’s going to be a sort of blubbering.
“Yeah?”
I nod again.
“Can you look at me?”
I need to get the hell out of this room, and the only way to achieve that is to just agree with the asshole. His arms are still around me, but they’ve loosened, so I slowly rotate in his arms. His hand moves closer to my face like he wants to wipe away the tears, but I beat him to it. “I’m good.” Not really. Not at all, actually.
“Can we still be friends?”
Is he for real?
“Sure.” I nod. “Absolutely.”
Lies. All lies.
“Good.”
I feel him tugging me closer, which causes me to stiffen up—like a corpse. “What are you doing?”
“Was gonna kiss your forehead.”
“No thanks.” I wiggle until he finally releases me. “I need to go check my face in the bathroom and finish dinner.”
Luke sighs, sounding resigned. “Sure. Good.”
Good? God, I’m exhausted. Literally. I could sleep for days after all of this emotional bullshit with Luke Green.
“Good.” I quickly open my door and make a beeline for my bathroom. Inside, I stand stock-still, using the moment to gather myself. I’ve got no time to think about all of his words. It’ll have to wait until later, when I’m alone.
