Mila shoves at me, pulling herself free. She begins to walk away, then stops and swinging back to me, her voice is hoarse as she says, “I can’t do this with you, Jase. You treat me like crap, and I didn’t do anything to deserve it. I’ve been nothing but a friend to you.” She begins to walk again, then stops and cries out, “Why?”
Why?
It’s the first time the question gets stuck in my chest.
Because I’m attracted to you?
Because I hate seeing Justin near you?
Because you’ve always been my Mila, and I never had to share you before?
I ignore all the why’s and take the easy way out, “I’m sorry, Mila.”
Anger tightens her features, and she stalks back to me. Shoving a finger at my chest, she snaps, “I don’t want an apology. I want to know why you’re such an asshole to me, Jase. You owe me an explanation.”
I know I do, but I don’t even understand it myself. Where do I begin to explain it to Mila?
Shaking my head, I say, “I’m a dumbass. There’s no reason.”
Her face is shadowed with a sad look, and she stares at me for a moment before she whispers, “It feels like I don’t know you anymore.”
This time when she walks away, I let her.
I suck in a breath of air, but it does nothing to ease the turbulent feeling in my chest. My pride keeps me from admitting out loud that I’m attracted to her.
What if Mila doesn’t feel the same? I’ll end up making an ass of myself.
My eyes stay on her until another thought rattles through me.
You’re losing Mila. You’re fucking losing her friendship.
I break out into a run, and not caring who sees, I dart in front of Mila. “Wait. Let’s talk about this.”
Giving me an exasperated look, she asks, “Talk about what exactly, Jase?”
The students are starting to gather nearby, watching the fight between Mila and me. “Not here. Let’s go up to the suite.” Taking her hand, I don’t give her much of a choice as I pull her into the dorm.
Our anger simmers in silence as we take the elevator to the top floor, and once we walk inside the suite, I follow Mila into her room. She crosses her arms over her chest as she turns to face me. A heavy sigh escapes her as she raises an expectant eyebrow at me. “You wanted to talk. Let’s talk.”
Her anger is etched into every inch of her face, and I can feel it coming off her in waves. I know I have to defuse the situation, but I don’t know how.
Again, I take the easy way out. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. Justin just aggravates the fuck out of me.”
Her gaze narrows on me. “Is that all you have to say?”
No. I have so much more I want to say. If only I had the guts.
Again my pride wins out, and not willing to admit I’m attracted to her, I nod.
Mila shakes her head, a frustrated expression tightening her features even more. “So you have nothing to say about the way you’ve been treating me? All those times you made crude comments about giving me a piece, about the handjob so you don’t die of blue balls… and the damn kiss the night we played that game? You have nothing to say about any of that?”
Her whole body is tense, and hearing her call me out for my actions the past month, makes regret ripple through me. I never meant to hurt her by flirting with her. I thought she was enjoying the banter. It has me admitting, “I thought you were okay with it all.”
A frown settles hard between her eyes. “That’s so freaking arrogant of you, Jase. How does me repeatedly telling you to stop give you the impression I enjoy being treated like one of your lays?”
My self-control begins to slip, and throwing my arms wide, I snap, “Fine, I won’t fucking flirt anymore. God, if I knew you were so sensitive, I wouldn’t have started in the first place.”
Seething, Mila stares at me for a long moment, and then a look of loss darkens her green irises. She closes her eyes and sucks in a deep breath of air. When her gaze settles on me again, her voice cracks over the words as she says, “I should’ve known better.”
“What does that mean?” My voice is sharp while I feel a flutter of panic in my chest. The expression on Mila’s face looks like she’s done with us.
She lets out an empty sounding chuckle. “You’ve always been a player. It just hurts so much because you don’t treat Fallon, Hana, or Jade that way. You just keep chipping away at me, and I don’t understand why.”
Mila shakes her head, and it looks like she’s come to a conclusion. As she turns around and heads to the walk-in closet, she says, “I can’t do this anymore. I’ll move back home for the time being. Then you don’t have to be around my sensitive ass.”