“The kiss,” she clarified.
“Oh. That.” His confusion was back. Like her request caught him off guard.
“I seriously don’t know what got into me. It must be the situation. Tension is high. My emotions are all over the place. It obviously didn’t mean anything.”
“Yeah…obviously. It’s just the situation.”
“I don’t want things getting weird between us again.”
“Yeah, no. I get what you mean,” he said, tugging on theback of his neck. “We’re just two friends who kissed one time. Yeah. It happens.”
“Totally!” she said, excitedly slapping him on the arm. “And we had to make it look convincing.”
“Yeah. Had to.”
“I mean, I almost convinced myself for a second,” she said, nervously laughing. But Theo wasn’t laughing back. Instead, he stared at her almost like it pained him watching her be so pathetic. She needed to make things less awkward. She didn’t want him thinking she was over there pining for him.
“Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t likeintoit, into it,” she continued as his gaze steadfastly focused. “Sure, it was a good kiss. But, like, I’ve kissed lots of guys where it meant nothing. This was like a silly dare. And you know I can’t say no to a dare. Like, oh! Remember that one time when—”
“Juicy, please stop.”
His strained words shut her up instantaneously.
“I’m sorry,” she said, biting her lip. “I’m making it weird, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but it’s fine. We’re in a weird situation. But seriously, we don’t ever need to mention it again. It never happened.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Not another word about it. Promise.” He crossed his heart and put up his hand.
Yet for some reason, disappointment rippled through her instead of relief. She quickly shook the thought away.
They stood silently for a few moments, not looking at each other.
“I suppose now’s the time to tell you, I’m not leaving tomorrow,” Theo said, like a needle scratching a record.
“What?!”
“Don’t worry, Andreas can still arrange for you to get to the embassy. You’ll be safe. But I’m going to stay and help him search for the eye.”
Anger boiled over inside her.
“The hell you are! Theo, we’re getting the fuck out of here. End of discussion.”
“I can’t leave. Not without seeing the pages from Demetrios’s journal. I’ll regret it if I leave before then,” he said with a genuineness in his eye.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Dani said, folding her arms. “Do you not remember being held hostagefor a year?”
“And now I’m free.”
She laughed. Unbelievable. “You’re notfree, Theo. You won’t be free until you are back home.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I have to do this. I have to know why my grandfather told me those stories. Why me? Why tell me at all? I need to know, Juicy. Can’t you understand that?”
“Then I’m staying with you.”
He frowned and dropped his arms. “No, absolutely not.”
