Page 55 of Don't Leave Me
I smiled to myself. “Yes, sir,” I humored him.
“Good. Call me when you’re here so I can pay the cab. See you soon,” he responded and hung up.
I quickly walked back into my room and Emily was smiling at me cleverly.
“Was that Michael?” she asked in a sing-song tone.
I flashed her my biggest smile. “Yes. I’m gonna go over there for a little bit. Are you okay here?”
“Yeah,” she assured me excitedly. “I’m looking at some bedroom sets,” she pointed to my Macbook.
“Ah, okay,” I nodded, shrugging on my coat. “Be good. I’ll be back in a little bit,” I assured her and walked out of my room, the living room now empty.
As instructed, I took the 15-minute cab drive to his apartment in the East Village but paid the cab fare myself; I was more than capable of covering it. I entered Michael’s building and knocked on his door; Michael answered in his casual jeans and hoodie, his hair a mess but his eyes lit up as he saw me.
“Hi,” I smiled, lifting my shoulder up, excited to see him.
“Hi. You didn’t call,” he opened the door wider for me to come in.
I shrugged and took off my coat as I walked in. “I know. I can cover a $20 cab fare myself,” I raised my eyebrows at him.
He sighed, taking my coat. “I know you can. But you came all the way over here,” he responded as he sat on the couch, taking my hand with me as he went.
I sat closely next to him as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.
“Yeah, all of the 3.5 miles over here,” I laughed, teasing him.
“That’s a long ways,” he teased back.
I bit my lip as I narrowed my eyes at him. The question I wanted to ask him was burning through my brain, and as nervous as I was, I had to ask him.
“What did you mean with that text: now and always?” I asked shyly.
He smiled, almost bashfully, as he looked away and then back at me.
“I always want you as close to me as possible,” he answered softly, his eyes piercing into mine, my heart thumping so wildly that I could feel it in my throat.
“You know, you’re pretty sweet when you want to be,” I raised my eyebrows at him playfully.
He chuckled to himself, putting his hand up to his growing beard and scratching his chin.
“Yeah, I know. You bring it out in me,” he went along.
Jesus. He’s being so god damn sweet. And he’s looking at me in that way again; I imagine it’s the way I look at him, so grateful and honored just to be in his presence. What if…what if he loves me too?
“You wanna know something?” I blurted out, too mesmerized in his eyes to be thinking about what I was about to say.
He raised his eyebrows with amusement. “Sure,” he nodded, putting a strand of hair behind my ear.
I gulped.Oh shit, am I telling him?
“I think I love you,” I revealed, my heart pounding, and I held my breath as I waited for his reaction.
He looked surprised as his lips parted and his eyes widened. I had no idea what he was thinking.
“Hana,” he said quietly, his eyes lowering, as if he couldn’t look at me any longer.
Oh no. What the fuck have I done? This was too fast…way too fast for him.
