Lance looks up at the sky, which is cloudy but thankfully not rainy. “I think I made a mistake, Parker.”
I put my hands between my knees and then squeeze my legs together. I say nothing.
He glances over at me. “I…I’ve been thinking about you. About us. A lot.”
“Yeah, I totally sensed that from all the phone calls,” I say sarcastically.
He’s quiet for a few moments. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me. And I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure. Didn’t want to jerk you around.”
I snort. “Where was all that consideration when you strung me along for the last two months of our relationship even when you weren’t feeling it?”
Lance shifts so that he’s facing me more fully, and his expression is very matter-of-fact. “You’re upset. You should be. I hurt you. But we’re adults, so before this conversation goes any further, just tell me if I even have a chance here. Because if I don’t, I’m not going to waste either of our time.”
It’s not a particularly romantic thing to say, but I find myself smiling, because it’s so Lance.
But then my smile fades, because…I don’t know what to tell him. I don’t know anything anymore.
And then it hits me that maybe my mom was right when she told Ben that I had unresolved feelings about what happened with Lance.
Because now that he’s here, I’m flooded with all sorts of memories and familiarity, and, yes, definitely a little bit of pain. I remember how we were. And how we were was good.
I wish Ben were here. To sit beside me while I figured this out. To tell me what to do.
“Parker?”
“I don’t know what to feel right now,” I tell Lance.
“Well, you’re not telling me to get out of here, so that’s good. Right?”
“Sure.”
“And I’m guessing the fact that you’re not ordering me off the property means you haven’t already moved on to some guy with movie-star good looks?”
His voice is teasing, but my mind flashes to Ben. To the way he’d looked at me last night. The way he’d held my hand.
I shake my head in denial of my own thoughts. It’s Ben. My best friend. Friend and only a friend.
Lance’s hand extends toward me, moving slowly, giving me a chance to move away. I let him take my hand, mostly to see what I feel, but I feel…
Nothing.
His fingers squeeze mine. “I want another chance, Parker.”
I finally turn to face him then. “Why? I thought you weren’t feeling it,” I jab again. “And what about the other girl? The one you noticed.”
To his credit, he doesn’t wince. Doesn’t apologize for his cold words all those nights ago, nor does he deny anything.
“She was…she was too much like me.”
My stomach clenches.
“So you dated?”
He shrugged. “Grabbed coffee a couple of times, but—”
“She didn’t want you.”
He grinned ruefully at his hands. “She has a boyfriend. But, Parker, you have to know—you have to—I’m not coming back because she wasn’t available. You and me…we have nothing to do with Laurel.”