He took my hand and placed it between both of his. I tried pulling out of his grip but he wouldn’t let me. “Hold on. This is important.”
I stopped fidgeting.
“I didn’t call you, and I should’ve. I said I would, but I chose not to. You deserved an explanation.”
“It’s fine.”Downplay the hurt. It’s better this way.“It’s not uncommon, honestly. Just filed it away like all the other dates.”
He blew out a breath, his brows furrowing together. “I won’t sit here and say our situation right now is ideal, or that we would’ve had this conversation if not for the weather, but I want to apologize for my behavior.”
“Thank you? Feels like it’s two years too late, but sure.”Sure, it affected my self-esteem for a hot minute because I’d never read a date so poorly before and thought I did something wrong. But yeah. Fine.
“I’m not done, Becca.” His tone softened, his mouth twisting into a grimace and his green eyes filling with regret. “Look, I didn’t call because Icanbe an asshole. You were…are… young. I’m older than you and figured you’d be high-maintenance. You wear a lot of bright colors and fancy clothes, have a lot of friends, chat with everyone. You always look incredible, which probably takes a lot of time, and well… Nothing wrong with being high-maintenance at all, but I wasn’t at a point in my life to dedicate time or energy into dating. I assumed you’d want or need someone who could give you the attention you deserve. It was easier to not call than to explain myself to you. It was a bad move.”
My throat felt full of cotton and swallowing hurt.High-maintenance?That was a new one for the list. He cleared his throat, probably expecting an answer, but I wasn’t sure what to say.Fancy clothes? Friends?Sure, I talked a lot, that wasn’t new information, but I hated how my traits were seen in a bad light by him. It was two years ago, yet the sting was no less dull. I took a drink of the water and offered a shaky smile. The confidence he’d carried the last fifteen hours was gone.
“At least I have an explanation now.” My stomach tightened at how awkward this was. He wasn’t the same guy, and I appreciated him owning up to it. But… two years later?
The lines around his mouth tightened, and he said again, “I’m sorry.”
Maybe it was the regret in his voice or the flirting with hypothermia I was experiencing, but annoyance at all my past dates, him included, flared up.
“Harrison, it would’ve been nice to hear the truththen. A simple text. A thirty-second conversation. Anything. Being ghosted is horrible and makes you second guess yourself and analyze what went wrong. It’s maddening when a date doesn’t have the guts to be honest.” My chest heaved. I pulled a blanket over my head, and I snuggled under the covers. “I’m going to sleep. Good night.”
CHAPTER TEN
HARRISON
You’re such an asshole.That’s what the fierce winds seemed to say as they tried knocking down the walls of my house.
My list of transgressions against my sweet neighbor was ten miles long, and my stomach burned in the same way it did when I made a wrong call on the field. Regret. While I didn’t regretnotdating Becca then, because my head wasn’t in the right place, I could’ve handled it better. We could’ve been friends.
Bullshit.
With the way my attraction to her kept growing in our short time together, it’s unlikely a simple friendship would’ve worked out between us. But it would’ve prevented the invisible wall we have between us now. The hurt I’d caused. I stared up at the dark ceiling, illuminated by the flames of the fire, and cracked my knuckles for something to do. She said most of her dates did that, so I was just like all the other assholes who’d upset her. Was she really high-maintenance? If anything, the last few hours proved how easy she was to be around. She hadn’t complained about a single thing.
She hadn’t said a word in over an hour, but she wasn’t sleeping. Neither of us were, but she adjusted her position about every ten seconds. The wind howled something fierce outside, and the fire provided just enough heat to stave off my own shivers. I’d added more wood to it minutes ago, pretending I didn’t see the way her bundled figure trembled. She needed my warmth or she’d freeze.Would she push me away? Tell me to, rightfully, fuck off? To hell with it.
“Becca, you’re freezing.” I pushed up onto my elbow and glanced down at her.
“A l-little.” She faced me, her teeth chattering and terror reflected in her wide eyes. “I wouldn’t mind if y-you wanted t-to come c-closer. For warmth.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t mind?” I teased without thinking.Damn it.
“C-come over here then.” She gave me her back, her invitation more enticing by the second.
I smiled at her demand, glad she couldn’t see it. Pressing my body against hers was certainly not a chore, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, either. I removed my jacket and blanket, scooted toward her back, and pulled at her million miles of comforter.
“W-what are you d-doing?”
“Body heat will spread faster without all the blankets or layers. Don’t worry, I’ll bundle us back up. Take off your coat.”
She did, narrowing her eyes at me. Once she set it on the floor, I slid right behind her, wrapping my limbs around hers for optimal warmth. The same delicious smell came from her neck. I bit down, preventing myself from groaning at how good she felt. The only thing separating us was our pants and sweatshirts. She moved against me, wiggling her ass against my crotch, and I used my free hand to wrap us in layers of blankets. Her chest rose faster, as did mine. After a few seconds, my body warmed.
“There, this is nice. Feeling any better?” I whispered.
“Yes.”
She still trembled but not as violently as before, relieving my concern that she might have hypothermia. Her petite body fit against mine. Ignoring her curves or the way she smelled like cookies was nearly impossible.
