“Okay.”
“I’ll meet you there tonight. Send me the deets, please.”
I won’t lie and say I’m not disappointed at the realization that she probably doesn’t want to ride with me, but I don’t let itdiscourage me. She agreed, which is the important part, because I don’t want a life without her in it.
“Okay. See you there, and Millie?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Thank me for what?”
“Just thank you.” I don’t want to make this weird, and I probably already have.
She laughs before saying, “Okay, Rowan Pierce. I guess if we’re handing out expressions of gratitude, I owe you one as well.”
“You don’t—” I start to tell her she doesn’t owe me anything, but she interrupts me.
“Can we just say thank you to one another and it not be weird?”
I laugh because that’s exactly what I wanted to do, but I was the one to go and make it all weird. “Noted, no weirdness.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you tonight?” she asks timidly.
“I’ll be there with my dancing shoes on.”
She giggles, “Oh, I can’t wait to see that. Bye, Rowan.”
“Bye, Millie.”
I hang up the phone and blow out a breath. That went better than I expected, but it still feels like I have a hard rock sitting in my stomach. It has been ever since I watched her walk away yesterday at the party and only grew heavier when I finally got my ass in gear and went after her, only to find her getting in the car with Beau.
That’s when I realized how bad I had really fucked up. She was running away from me because I had hurt her, unintentionally of course, but the outcome was the same no matter my intentions.
After watching them pull away, I got in my own car and started to go home, only to remember I downed three shots in closeproximity. I had no business driving until I sobered up, so I turned the car off and sat with my thoughts.
And it wasn’t pretty.
I didn’t like how I felt, and I sure as hell didn’t like the guilt that was eating me up. Guilt for not going after her, but even more guilt for letting her think that I wanted to control her. That was the furthest from the truth.
I wanted her safe and healthy and here with me. But I fucked it all up by not trusting her to know what’s best for her and her body, and not giving her the benefit of the doubt.
A mistake I won’t make again, because I really don’t like her mad at me. I loathe it actually.
I look at the clock and realize I’ve got a few hours to kill before I can meet her for the salsa dance class. A class I spent the better part of an hour trying to find, and when I did, it felt like I hit the jackpot.
Now, more than ever, I want to be the one to do that bucket list with her. At first I didn’t understand her obsession with it,but now? Now it makes perfect sense.
I shuffle out of my room and head towards the kitchen. Maybe Luka’s here and we can hang out for a bit before I leave to meet Millie.
When I get to the kitchen I don’t see him; the living room’s clear as well, which means he’s probably with Lily. He very rarely ever hangs out in his room by himself, but it’s worth checking.
His door’s closed, so I give a quick warning knock before twisting the knob and swinging the door open.
“What the hell, dude?” Luka sits up from the bed in surprise. He’s shirtless and his hair is disheveled like he was napping.
My eyebrows rise in shock. “I honestly didn’t think you’d be here. My bad, dude.”
