Don’t run
IFOUND ANOTHER RED?roseon my doorstep the following morning, and another one when I got back home from the dance studio. Glen pried them both from my fingers before I could drop them in the waste bin and gathered them into a vase that now decorated our coffee table.
“I think it’s cute,” she insisted when the next day more flowers joined the ones already there. “You should leave him a note back.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I sighed.
“Hallie, we’ve been over this. Luke is not a good idea; he is agreatone. And you shouldn’t let your mother, who doesn’t even know him, dictate who you spend your time with.”
You have the most beautiful smile.
I picked at the note on one of the roses with my finger, chewing on my cheek. Luke’s handwriting was neat and careful, as if he’d taken great care to spell each word out. Or perhaps he’d had several previous tries before he’d perfected the sentence. I didn’t allow myself to imagine him wrapping those notes around the roses. I couldn’t.
“I’m not going to write him a note back,” I said stubbornly.
By Thursday—fourmore roses later—my resolve had dissolved, and I was smearing a piece of paper with scrawls of my own. I wasn’t worth Luke’s time, he should be romantic to someone who’d be able to reciprocate his affections. My life was too messed up.
I tried to put that in a letter, while Glen did her best to change my mind.
“Hallie, you’re not really serious about giving him that, are you?”
I read over the letter, wincing internally. It wasn’t great. I wasn’t a wordsmith by any means.
“You’re running. You always run,” Glen huffed. “You said it felt right last Friday.”
I set my jaw and folded my imperfect letter into a small square.
“Hallie, stop and think about it for a second. You don’t really want Luke to stop flirting with you, that’s the highlight of your day!”
“I thought you said you’d be on my side,” I snapped.
“I am on your side,” Glen retorted. “So is Mr Umbrella. After that forehead kiss, you must realise that. You’ve never looked more blissful than when you told me about it. Hallie, it’s meant to be.”
I don’t do pottery or yoga, but I’m willing to try dancing if you’ll teach me.
I squeezed my eyes shut trying to stop the butterflies that came with the memory. He surprised me. He seemed to always surprise me. I hadn’t expected the tender gesture, or the way he’d lingered.
“This isn’t about any of that. My mum—ughh!” I marched past the roses as Glen shouted after me.
“It is about all of that!”
I miss your gorgeous face. Elevate with me?
My heart thrummed in my chest as I skipped waiting on the lift and took the stairs down to the tenth floor. I was just going to leave the note on his welcome mat, so the nerves had no reason to bugger me. Yet, I couldn’t calm the mayhem in my stomach. By the time I reached Luke’s door, I was shaking like a leaf, which was silly. It was just a note, not a love letter or anything. In fact this one said I’d be better off alone, and Luke had nothing to do with the reason for it.
I was about to drop the message on his doorstep when his door opened, freezing me in my tracks. I was not ready for it. I had not prepared to actually look him in the eyes while I gave it to him. Those eyes always made me feel seen in the best possible way, but right there and then, I did not want to be seen.
I rose my gaze from his feet to the five roses in his hand, to the genuine smile on his face that got my heart to kick in my chest like a feral horse.
“Red Cheeks,” he said cheerfully. “What are the chances? I was just coming up to see if you’d like to have dinner with me, and here you are.”
I swallowed and fumbled with the offensive paper in my hands.
“H-hi.” Goodness, I was hopeless.
