He turned to her. Even in the dim light, she could see the redness that rimmed his eyes. "N-nothing. Let's go inside."
He walked past her.
"Stop," she said. They faced each other. "What's your problem?"
"My p-problem? What have I done?" he asked.
Her eyebrows merged. "I don't know. You're acting weird. Is something wrong? Have I done something to upset you?"
He sighed, not looking away, then took a few steps forward till he was close enough for her to feel the heat his body radiated.
"You've done nothing, Elle," he said, his hands fisted to his sides.
"Then what's wrong?"
"Why are you saying that?" he asked softly.
"I don't know. You're different." She folded her arms over her chest, whether to protect herself from the cold or the conversation, she didn't know.
"How?" He stood too close, yet not touching at all.
She paused. "You look at me differently, you touch me differently, you treat me differently."
For a long moment, he said nothing, only stared at her with an intensity that was starting to consume her. He gulped and whispered, "How do I look at you?"
Her breaths quickened. She wanted to look away but his gaze held her rooted. "Different."
"How?"
"Like I'm more."
There was a war in his eyes, his jaw hard. "What if you are?"
Her eyes widened. "But... But, we're friends, and friends don't—"
"Friends what?" he asked, his voice barely audible. He reached forward and took her hand in his, tracing circles on the skin of her inner wrist with his thumb. "You say we're just friends but we know that friends don't hold hands like this."
She gulped, her heart racing.
He continued, closing the distance between them, "You get jealous when I'm with someone else. Why is that so?"
Flustered, she began, "I'm not jeal—"
"Don't deny it."
She fell silent.
"What are we, Giselle? Because it's destroying me!"
She mumbled, "We're just friends."
He left her hand and ran his through his hair. "Friends don't kiss, Elle! Friends don't have this heat between them."
Is he accusing me of luring him, of tempting him?She gulped again, shaking her head. "We've never kissed. This is all just... It's just this night. We're just..." Her voice trailed off. She let out a long breath.
He stared into her eyes for a long moment, then nodded, his smile not reaching his eyes.
She watched him take a step backward, then another, and for reasons unknown to her, every step broke her heart. She wanted him to come back, hold her, and tell her what she meant to him. She wanted him to feel what she was feeling, even if it was just for the night.