I have to find a way to safely put Rowan Pierce in the friend category and leave him there.
“I want us to be friends,” I blurt, feeling self-conscious, but I need to be clear with my intentions.
He chuckles, his tone soft with a hint of that gravelly tone that I love so much. “I want that too.”
“Just friends,” I clarify, slamming my eyes shut from how stupid I feel, but this is a necessary evil. I need to say it out loud for my own sanity.
He goes quiet for so long that I pull the phone away from my ear to make sure we didn’t get disconnected. He finally replies, “Okay, just friends.”
Is that disappointment that I hear? I shake my head because that can’t be right; he’s the one that’s pushed the friendship narrative from the beginning.
Before I can think too much of it, he says, “Friends can go salsa dancing, right?”
I smile because with everything that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours, I’ve completely forgotten about our salsa dancing conversation.
“I guess so? Do you think it’d be weird?”
His answer is instant and firm. “No.”
I laugh, “Does that mean you want to go with me?”
He blows out a playful sigh of relief. “I thought you would never ask, Daredevil.”
I go over and sit on my bed, lying back and staring at the ceiling as I tuck the phone between my cheek and shoulder. “I’ll have to look for—”
“I already found a place and guess what?” He’s so excited.
“What?” I smile into the phone, finally feeling settled for the first time since before our conversation last night.
“It’s a six-week course and the first lesson starts tonight.”
“Tonight?” My eyebrows shoot up my forehead in surprise.
“What are the odds, huh? Wanna go?”
I hesitate because I do want to go, but is that the best decision? Salsa dancing with a six-foot-one hunk of a man is not going to help me with my unrequited crush. But I just told him I want to be friends.
“Come on, Daredevil. I know you want to,” he teases.
“I do want to. I just don’t know if it’s a smart thing to do,” I answer, honestly.
“You don’t trust me?”
He actually sounds a little hurt and offended, and I scramble to explain. “No, it’s not that. I don’t trust myself, Rowan. I’m worried that right now I need space to clear my head, but I don’t want to do that.”
“Then don’t.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rowan
“It’s not that simple.” The plea in her voice has my heart squeezing uncomfortably.
“It’s only complicated if you make it that way. Look, I know I screwed up and I’m so damn sorry. You said you wanted to be friends. So let’s be friends. No pressure, no expectations.” Now I’m the one making the plea.
She’s quiet for so long. I hold my breath and it feels like my heart stops along with it.
It’s not until her barely audibleokaythat I finally take a breath, and my heart rate returns to a normal beat.
