He frowned and looked out at the ocean. “No, I’m not.”
“Why are you even talking to me?”
“Because I miss talking to you. We used to talk for hours, and I don’t do that with anyone but you. I know I said a romantic relationship wouldn’t work between us, but I didn’t mean I never wanted to talk to you again.”
“You went eight months without needing to talk to me.”
“You aren’t going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“You didn’t make it easy for me. One day you were all in, and the next it was over. You weren’t even willing to talk about it. Now, you want to be friends.” She shook her head and stood. “I have enough friends.”
“Wait,” he called out when she walked away. Something in his voice made her stop and look back at him.
“Go ahead,” she said when he just stared at her.
“This isn’t easy for me to say.”
She sighed. “Just say it and get it over with.”
“Even if we can’t be friends, can we please not be enemies?”
Staring into his eyes, she recognized the pain reflected in them. She’d only seen it once before, and it was at Christmas when he gave her the bracelet that had belonged to his aunt.
“Did something happen?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you lose someone close to you?”
When he looked away from her, Aine knew she was on the right track. She sat back down.
“What happened, Griffin?”
“How did you know?”
“I’m not sure. The look in your eyes, I guess.”
“It was nothing I didn’t expect, and my sister wasn’t someone I was close to.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I hadn’t seen her in years, and even before then, we didn’t have a relationship.” He turned back and looked into her eyes. “Don’t pity me, Aine. That isn’t what this is about. I don’t want you to be my friend because you feel sorry for me.”
/>
She put her hands on the grass behind her and leaned back. “I don’t pity you. I’m mad at you. It doesn’t mean I don’t like you anymore.”
“So, friends?”
“When did your sister pass away?”
Striker scrubbed his face with his hand. “Earlier in the year.”
“When?”
“March.”
“Before you broke up with me?”