Jade shakes her head and stares miserably down at her hands. “Not in a million years, Hunter. Nothing you do can ever compare to the hell I’ve put you through.”
My eyes search over her features. Seeing her remorse is all I wanted. “Where do we go from here?” I ask.
Jade shrugs and whispers, “I have no idea.” She shoots me a hopeful glance. “Can’t we go back to the way things were?”
I think for a moment, then shake my head. “Too much has changed. I don’t think it’s possible.”
The corners of her mouth pull slightly down, and her chin begins to quiver. “I guess you’re right,” she whispers as a tear spills down her cheek. “Can we at least make peace and be nice to each other?”
Lifting my hand, I bring it to her face, and with my thumb, I wipe the tear away. I tilt my head to try and catch her eyes, but she keeps staring at her hands. Putting a finger under her chin, I lift her face so she’ll look at me. “I’m not saying we can’t be friends, Jade. We can take it one day at a time. Let our relationship follow the normal path.”
Her face fills with hope, and the corner of her mouth begins to lift in an optimistic smile. “So, you still want to be friends with me?”
“Didn’t you listen to the song I sent you this morning?”
“I did,” the words burst from her.
“I meant every word. I don’t think I can ever give up on us.”
“Me too.” There’s a cute expression on her face. One I haven’t seen in years, and it makes me smile. “Are you going to call me Little Bean again?”
I let out a chuckle and shake my head. “You’re not so little anymore,” I tease her. “It was your childhood nickname, and we both know you’re no longer a kid.”
Her cheeks flush red, and she buries her flaming face in her hands. Letting out a groan, she complains, “Oh God, I’m never going to live it down.” Then her hands drop from her face, and she stares at me with wide eyes. “Please don’t tell the others I stripped in front of you.”
I can’t keep the grin from forming on my face and placing my arm around her shoulders, I pull her into my side. “Your secret is safe with me, but if you ever give me shit again, I’m advertising it to the entire world.”
“Deal.” She holds her right hand out to me and placing mine in hers, we shake on it.
We sit for a couple of minutes, and I try to think how I’m going to start talking about the topic of the kiss, when Jade says, “About the kiss.” Her eyes snap down to her hands, and she shifts awkwardly, which has me dropping my arm from around her shoulders.
“Which one?”
She pulls an uneasy face. “Both, I guess.”
I grab onto the most plausible excuse. “We were both just emotional, and at our wits end with each other.”
Jade’s head instantly bobs up and down. “Totally. You’re right.”
“We’re good?” I ask as I get up.
Jade also rises to her feet. “Ahh… I’m glad we finally made peace, but I still feel like shit. Isn’t there anything I can do to make it up to you?”
It’s going to take time for our friendship to get back to where it was. I’m just about to tell Jade not to worry about it when an idea pops into my head. “You owe me two years’ worth of hugs. You can start by making up for that.”
A wide smile splits over her face, and then she face-plants against my chest. When she wraps her arms tightly around my waist, I let out a burst of laughter.
I move my own arms around her and press my mouth to the top of her head. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath of her scent.
Thank’s Jade. This is what I needed. Just being able to hold you again.
I tighten my hold on her, and she responds by snuggling as close to me as she can, and then she whispers, “I’m so sorry. I know you must be tired of hearing me say those words, but I mean them. I’ll never forgive myself for the way I treated you.”
I still have one question I need to be answered, so I turn my face and resting my cheek against her hair, I ask, “Did you ever stop caring for me?”
“Never.” Pulling a little back, she looks up at me. “That’s why I was so angry. It felt like I was betraying Brady by still loving you.”
I know she means the words as a friend, but they still stir something in my chest. “So, you still love me?” I ask, milking this moment for all it’s worth.