“Whatever, weirdo.” I tried to fight it. The emotions and desire to keep him there. But his hands and soft words made all the reasons why I should say no go away. “Mm. That feels amazing.”
“Good.” He chuckled in my ear, his hands moving down my neck toward my shoulders and upper back. “I can’t believe you tried to get out of seeing me today. I leave tomorrow for home.”
His words caused my stomach to tighten again, the conversation I’d overheard replaying a third or fourth time in my brain.He promised me this would happen.His lips touched the side of my face, right near my temple, and I closed my eyes. It was too easy to pretend it was real. The words, the actions, the way our bodies knew every part of each other. “I’m going to miss you.”
Goddamn it. Goddamn him and his words.
“Now, you rest and sleep. I’m putting in the show. Want any soup before we start?” He slid out of the bed, looking more handsome than ever. His dark eyes warmed at me and another wave of emotion took over. “Ah, baby, what hurts?”
“Nothing. Just, I’ll get it out.” I cried into the pillow, hugging it around my body like a damn lifejacket. Aaron just rubbed my back, whispering things he didn’t know or mean. How could he possibly know I was crying because I’d fallen in love with him…and he would never feel the same way?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aaron
Kenzie stared me down. Her beady eyes showed no mercy as she set down a draw four, ensuring she won the round ofUno.I threw my hand on the ground, flipping her off. My mom and dad chuckled from the couch and for that brief second, it was like everything in the world was normal.
My family had had their turkey meal. We’d watched the parade and football. We’d played games and watched movies for two days and there’d been no shadow ofcancerin the air. The experimental medicine my dad was trying had begun working. The tumor had stopped growing, stopped spreading throughout his body. It was too soon to celebrate, but we could all take a deep breath for the first time. The combination had everyone in an odd mood, excited for progress but too afraid to express it.
“Want to go again, bitch?” Kenzie said under her breath. Shestillgot scolded for language. I didn’t.
“What was that, Mackenzie? Did you use a curse word?”
“Fuck you,” she mouthed at me. I laughed.
“Aaron, how was Greta’s Thanksgiving with her family?” my mom asked. I’d found myself talking about her the whole damn weekend. Her classes, her music, what we did together, yet my mom’s question made me tense up. It wasn’t her fault. She had no idea that Greta hadn’t responded to me. Or that things had been weird since she got sick.
I knew Greta. She said she was sick, but it didn’t sit well with me. Something else was going on. And avoiding me or lying were not options.
“It went well,” I lied. I checked my phone for the hundredth time to see if she’d responded. My unread messages sat there.
Aaron: Hey, how’s your holiday going? I have awesome news for you.
Aaron: Yo, give me a call when you have a chance. I haven’t heard you gab in two days. I miss your stupid jokes.
Aaron: Okay. I take it back. Your jokes aren’t stupid all the time. Just most of the time.
Aaron: G? You okay?
It wasn’t like her to play games, so something had to be wrong. My mom nodded at my bullshit answer. My dad’s health had her ridiculously happy and she went back to focusing on him. That was fine by me. I excused myself from the room to try calling her. It rang and rang, but the second I was about to hang up, she answered.
“Hello?” She was out of breath, like she’d run a mile to get to the phone.
“Hey, G.” The coil of nerves growing in my chest left the moment I heard her voice. “I’ve been worried about you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.” Someone shouted in the background—loud music playing and every impression she gave me about her family was notthis. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you. Do you have some time?” Fuck the rules about being needy. She was my best friend.
“Sure.”
A pit formed low in my stomach. Something was wrong. I knew her too well. “Gabs, are you still feelingsick? You don’t sound like yourself at all.”
“No.” She released a deep sigh, her breath making a loud sound through the phone. “I’m feeling better. Thank you.”
“Then what is it? I know you.” We didn’t keep things from each other and my patience snapped. “Something’s wrong.”
“Okay, you’re right, Aaron.” Her voice sounded resigned, like she’d rather do anything than talk to me. “Look, I promise I’ll talk to you when we get back. I’m going through a weird time. It’s not you, okay?”
