“I’m not making him suffer, Flick. But I’m not going to just roll over either. He hurt me, really hurt me. Part of me gets it, after what happened to his mom. But I’ve had a lifetime of pain to deal with. Next time I trust someone with my heart, it’ll be because they earned it.”
“But look at him... I mean, he’s so... sad.”
Before I could stop myself, I’d looked over at Asher’s table. He was surrounded by his teammates, the conversation and laughter going on all around him, but his eyes were fixed right on me.
I inhaled a shaky breath. Of course, it wasn’t the first time I’d stolen glances of him around school. I always knew when he was nearby. Just because we were no longer together didn’t mean the connection between us was severed. If anything, it burned brighter; snapping taut whenever our paths crossed. But it was easier to resist the pull now. Easier to ignore.
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
In that one simple look, Asher was able to tell me everything I didn’t want to hear.
He was sorry.
He loved me.
He wanted me back.
But words weren’t enough, not this time.
I was the one to break our connection, to lower my eyes and focus on the food in front of me. Felicity grumbled beneath her breath, clearly frustrated at my behavior. But this was one thing she couldn’t fix.
The only person who could was sitting across the cafeteria.
And even then, I wasn’t sure there was anything left he could do to make me change my mind.
“This was a great idea,” I said to Felicity as I helped her herd the last couple of puppies into the tub. “I feel better already.”
“It’s impossible not to love these little guys, even if they get overexcited at bath time.” She scrubbed a spaniel’s ear, sending the tiny ball of fluff into an excited frenzy. “Quick,” she shrieked, “grab a towel.”
Laughing, I leaned over and helped myself to a freshly folded towel. It was my second time helping Felicity out at A Brand New Tail, the local pet shelter where she volunteered a couple nights a week, but I hadn’t been here since pre-Asher.
I’d forgotten how good for the soul the little furballs could be.
“So are we hitting The Alley after we get done?” I asked drying Maximus off while she handled his brother Caesar.
“Actually,” she peeked over at me, “we’re… hangingatmyhousewiththeguys.”
“Felicity, seriously?”
“I’m sorry, but when I told Jason we were hanging out with Hailee, he got all needy and jealous and wanted to come with us, and I thought it would be less awkward if we all hung out at mine.”
Levelling her with a hard look, I let out a heavy sigh. “That makes zero sense. You know that, right?”
“I thought you’d be cool with it, since you’re playing hard to get and all.”
“I’m not playing hard…” I stopped myself. “Fine, it’s fine.” It was just six friends getting together, I could handle it.
“Asher offered not to come,” she added, casting me a furtive glance.
“He did?”
I didn’t know how to feel about that.
“Yeah, said he didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, but like I told him, you’re cool with everything.” Her lip curved, a familiar glint in her eye. “You are cool with everything, right?”
“Who me?” I smiled sweetly.
“I don’t know how you do it.”