“Talk to me, Heather,” he says again.
“Landon broke up with me,” I manage, and that sets off a whole fresh wave of tears.
If it were someone else, I’d probably fudge the details. I’d probably say that “we broke up.” But what’s the point of lying? Abe is my best friend here. If I can’t tell him the truth, then who can I talk to?
“Wow,” Abe murmurs. “I’m really sorry. That’s… awful.”
I nod and blow my nose noisily into a fresh tissue. There’s so much snot that I have to lay my first tissue on his coffee table and get a fresh one for a second blow. I feel pretty gross. I glance up at Abe, who doesn’t seem to be bothered by my snotty tissues.
“Sorry,” I say anyway.
He frowns. “For what?”
I hold up the tissue. “For being disgusting and full of snot.” I allow myself a tiny laugh.
But Abe doesn’t laugh. “Heather, you could never be disgusting.”
“Um, yeah, I think I could.”
“No.” The way he’s looking at me makes my heart speed up suddenly. “You couldn’t. Never.”
I’m about to tell Abe that he’s never seen me when I’m sick with a bad upper respiratory tract infection when he leans forward and presses his lips against mine.
This, I did not expect.
But it’s not bad. Actually, it’s quite nice. Landon always used to scratch me up with the stubble of his facial hair, but Abe’s lips are incredibly soft, and even the bristles of his five-o’clock shadow are gentle against my chin. As he kisses me, he slides his hand up the back of my neck, lacing his large fingers into my hair, pulling me closer to him. And I’m letting him do it.
I can’t even say how long it lasts. But when Abe pulls away from me, I’m breathless. We’re both shaking, and his green eyes are wide.
“I’m so sorry,” he breathes.
“You don’t look sorry.”
Abe rubs his face with his hands. “I wanted to do that for so long,” he murmurs. “You have no idea.”
He’s right. I had absolutely no idea. I’m a total idiot.
This explains a lot, though.
“I’m sorry,” he says again, and now he’s the one who looks like he’s going to cry. “I really like you, Heather. I mean, alot. I just… want to besomethingto you. I don’t want you to freak out. We could just be friends again if that’s what you want.”
“Is that whatyouwant?” I ask him.
He runs a shaking hand through his red hair. “If it’s what you want.”
“But what doyouwant?” I press him.
He stares at me.
“You,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
I look at Abe. Honestly, I never thought of him this way. As aman. He may not be as handsome as Mason, but he’s not bad-looking at all. He’s actually pretty cute, and he has really nice green eyes and huge muscles. As long as you don’t mind guys who are roughly the size of a grizzly bear.
“Okay,” I say.
His eyes widen. “Okay what?”
I reach out and squeeze his knee. “Okay, you can kiss me again.”
