“I’m sorry, Har." Tyson's voice cracks. " I didn’t know how to tell you." He sighs heavily, dropping his head. " I didn’t want to tell you.” His hands shake in his lap, and some of my anger dissipates. The magnetic pull we've always had draws me closer to him. My fingers itch to dive into his hair and pull him against me. To comfort him. To comfort me. Something . . . anything to slow down whatever storm he's battling . . . but . . . I don't.
“Wow." I whisper, sitting on the bed next to him. " I’m not really sure what to say." I look up, and our eyes meet in the mirror. “Is this what you want? I mean, she isn’t pressuring you to do this. Right?”
He shakes his head slowly. “No, she isn't." I reach over and grab his hand, entwining my fingers with his, and he squeezes his eyes shut with the contact. “She’s my future, Harley," he says, looking up. "This is my future. Please tell me you understand.” He clutches my hand, a silent plea for me to accept the path he’s chosen.
Don't go.
Stay.
Don't do this.
“Of course,” I whisper, my heart breaking at the lie. Unable to hold back the tears, I let them fall silently down my cheeks. My mind yells at me to say something, do something to make him stay.
"Earth to Harley," Quinn says, nudging me out of my trip down the minefield I walked through today.
I glance over at the pool table again. Tyson's arm hangs loosely around Brit's neck. Her arms are wrapped tightly around his body. Me. That should be me.
They had started dating our sophomore year in college. She is perfect in every way; she is everything I’m not.
I watch as he wraps her perfectly straight blonde hair around his hand and tugs hers beautifully sculpted face up to his. He leans down placing a gentle kiss on her pouty lips and when she smiles, I swear, I'm blinded by her sparkling blue eyes . . . I, on the other hand, was gifted with an unruly brown rat's nest on tops of my head and a pair of mossy green eyes with a tiny button nose. Side by side, we are the princess and the frog. I may be exaggerating a bit. I'm cute, or so I've been told. But she's every man's dream. She can have any guy she wants, but she wants Tyson--my Tyson.
I sigh as he pulls her in closer. And he wants her, too.
I hate her.
My relationship with Brit is rocky at best. She's frequently upset with the amount of time that Ty and I spend together. Despite our reassurances that we're just friends, she doesn't buy it. On more than one occasion, she has tried to convince him that I was harboring secret feelings for him. She went as far as to accuse me of using our friendship as an excuse to spend extra time with him.
Tyson never believed her, but she was right. I do have feelings for Ty. I’ve loved that boy since I was nine years old. The minute he punched Jimmy Tallen in the nose for calling me ugly, my heart belonged to him.
Telling him about my feelings never seemed like an option. He never seemed to be into me, and I wasn't willing to risk losing our friendship. So, I sat back, watching quietly as he dated girl after girl. I nursed his broken hearts and encouraged him to get back on the dating wagon, as any good friend would do. Then Brit literally stumbled into our lives, and everything changed. I didn’t like it at all.
Tyson use to know everything about me. He knew all of my secrets, lies, and insecurities. But that isn't the case anymore. He doesn't know my biggest secret. He doesn't know that I'm in love with him.
Something happened when he told me he was moving. I'm not sure what it was, but a puzzle piece was put into place and everything became crystal clear. I had to tell him. He can’t leave without knowing the truth. I've always been able to predict how Tyson will react to things, but I honestly have no idea how he is going to respond to this
“One more shot,” I say, raising my glass to Quinn.
Her lips curled in a devious smile. “Someone is getting brave.”
“ I need all the liquid courage I can get.” We tap and chug.
“It’s about damn time.” She has been trying to get me to confess my undying love for Ty for the past four years.
My head spins when I move to stand, but it’s not because I’m drunk. Confrontations were never my strong suit. Not that I’m going to confront Ty in a bad way, but still.
On unsteady legs, I make my way across the bar. Ty is playing pool with Levi and Cooper, his college roommates. This is the perfect time to approach him since Brit is standing at an adjacent table talking to some of her friends. I would prefer her not be present for this conversation.
Levi greets my intrusion with a hug. “Hello, gorgeous.” His hand roams down the small of my back, and I smack it away playfully.
Poking his chest I give him a firm look. "No ass grabbing tonight." I scold.
I lean against the back wall as Cooper sweeps the table and that's my cue. Wasting no time, I kick off the wall and approach Ty. “Hey, got a sec?”
He cocks his head to the side giving me a lopsided grin that makes my insides melt, and my knees wobble. “Anything for you, you know that.”
Taking a deep cleansing breath, I calm my nerves. “Can we step outside. Maybe somewhere a little more quiet?”
Tyson purses his lips, tilting his head to the side, but he doesn’t protest. Instead he places his hand at the small of my back and steers me toward the side door.