“I kissed you because as I was speaking to him, all I could think was that Luke would never talk to me like this. He would never shame me like this. And then you were there, and you were coming toward me, and I could see the anger in your eyes, and, yeah, maybe I thought you were going to hit him—but when I ran up into your arms and kissed you, it was because I wanted to feel your lips against mine.” Her voice lowers. “I wanted to just be in your arms. You’re so much better than he is.”
At that moment, I feel chosen. I feel validated. I feel hope. Maybe this can actually go somewhere for real.
“There’s something I want to tell you, Mia, something you need to know.”
“What is it?” she says. “Oh shit. I need to go though because I need to take the photos.”
“Listen to me,” I say, grabbing her hands and squeezing. “It’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, and I don’t want to not reveal this anymore.”
“What is it?” She looks nervous now.
“Remember when we were teenagers, and you got drunk at that party, and you got carried home by a guy in a bear costume who took care of you, and you always thought it was Rex, and you were like,This shows me he’s a really great guy?”
“Yeah. That was the only redeeming factor he had. Sure, I thought he was cute, but he had always been a jerk. Until that moment.”
“It was me,” I say.
“What?” She looks at me as if she doesn’t quite understand what I just said.
“It was me in the bear costume.”
“It was you?” She stares into my eyes for what feels like forever and just shakes her head. “What do you mean, it was you?”
“It was never Rex. I was the one in the bear costume. I saw you were drunk. I saw guys were looking to take advantage of you, and I wanted to make sure you were safe, so I took you home, and I tucked you in, and I got you water and soup and let you sleep. I don’t even know if you remember the chicken noodle soup I got.” I stop and survey herface, but she says nothing. “And I’m sorry if you think I’m a creep or a liar for not telling you. I just didn’t know what to say. You really were convinced it was Rex, and it seemed to mean so much to you, and I didn’t want to take that away from you. And when I realized that you were giving him far too much credit, I felt shitty to then tell you the truth. But I can’t keep this to myself anymore. It was me, Mia.”
I stare at her as she silently watches me, processing the information. I know if she takes this poorly, our entire relationship is down the drain. If she thinks I’m a liar, if she thinks I deliberately held this from her, I know I’ve lost her.
She lets out a long sigh and shakes her head.
I feel my heart drop. This is it. Just when I thought we finally had a chance, this is where it is all going to end.
“It was you,” she says softly. “My darling. I should have known it was you.”
She smiles a wide, happy smile, and her eyes light up as she leans forward and gives me a quick peck on the lips. I feel exposed but hopeful because she’s touching me.
“Are you mad?”
“Why do I feel like you’ve said that many times on this trip?” she says, laughing. “You’re someone I don’t want to hurt, and it makes sense, obviously. I feel like a fool for ever thinking it was him.”
She groans as she buries her face in her hands. “Tell me why, I’m such a fucking fool. How could I have ever thought that Rex took care of me that night? Nothing else he’s ever done in my time of knowing him would lead me to believe that he was sweet and lovely like that.”
She lets out a long sigh and looks up at me again. “Of course it was you, Luke.” She touches the side of my face. “You’ve always been amazing.”
“I hope that’s good.”
“It’s not bad,” she says, shrugging. “Okay, later this afternoon, after you’ve taken your work calls and I’ve taken the photographs, let’s go look for the second clue. I’m really hoping to win a pot of gold at the end of this so I can change my life and go traveling.”
“And where would you go traveling to?” I ask, my heart in my throat as I wait for her response.
“I don’t know. Europe or Australia or something.”
Disappointment floods through me. I hoped she was going to say she would come to New York. I hoped she was going to say that shewould come and see if we could make a real relationship work, but she isn’t there yet. She doesn’t hate me, but I think, in her eyes, I am still just her best friend—the best friend who has always been there for her, the best friend who takes care of her, the best friend who doesn’t let her down.
“Well, I’ve heard Australia’s really fun to visit,” I whisper, not wanting her to know just how morose I feel.
“Yeah.” She nods slowly. “I think it would be an epic trip, but I should go take photos because I said I would.” She leans back and tucks her camera to her body. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah,” I say.
