Page 49 of Running Winter

“But I’m never going to be more, am I?” I said as Rayna opened her mouth to respond, letting it close again wordlessly. “Because I’m your best friend. Because we bonded over our mutual interests instead of giving in to the attraction between us, which is clearly one-sided—”

“Wait.” Rayna silenced me with a finger on my lips. “We have the best friendship ever. Only two things will ruin it.”

I dared not breathe when she took a deep breath, looking up at me with her beautiful grey eyes, which were filled with confusion.

“If we tried to turn it into something else, and it didn’t work out,” she said, staring at our entwined fingers, “Or if we met other people.”

“Are you for real?” I scoffed, releasing her fingers to fold my arms.

We were next in the line for the cab, yet Rayna was glaring at me like she wanted to murder me.

“Why wouldn’t it work out?”

She laughed, a beautiful sound that made my chest ache with desire.

“I love how the only thing you are concerned about there is why I think we wouldn’t work out. What about other people, Chase, our futures? We are both going to different colleges—”

“Fuck all of that, Rayna.”

The cab pulled up beside us, and I opened the door as she climbed in, shifting over so I could sit beside her.

“It’s important, Chase!”

“Other people don’t come into the equation when it comes to you,” I said shortly, giving my address to the driver as Rayna nodded. “I’m trying to ignore my feelings for you. I swear, I am. But you just feel so right for me—”

“How can you say that? We haven’t even kissed—”

I rested my head on the headrest, staring out of the window as she continued.

“We could have zero chemistry, and could you imagine how awkward that would be?”

“You are so damn negative,” I yelled back, finally pissed off with this conversation. “What if it worked? Is that what you’re afraid of? What if it works?”

My chest rose and fell with anger, and Rayna shook her head.

“Not everything has a Fallon fairytale ending, Chase,” Rayna exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “We have more chance of this fucking up.”

“You won’t even try, and that tells me everything I need to know,” I muttered, gazing out of the window.

Something changed then, and I wanted Rayna to say something, anything, to change it back. Because instead of the hope, lust, and adoration I’d felt only moments earlier, it was now replaced with a coldness I was unfamiliar with.

Bitterness. Frustration.

I was tired of always being the nice one, the one that was reliable and predictable. But, of course, I couldn’t help the fact I only wanted one girl—it was clearly in my make-up. But, surely, I had something else in there. Something that made me a Fallon.

“We are so young, Chase. I don’t want forever, not right now,” Rayna said quietly, and I knew she was upset. “I want to live, experiment—”

“Just not with me. I get it.”

I didn’t trust myself to look at her.

So Rayna wanted to be like Heather?

Well, fuck her.

I wasn’t willing to be waiting for her when she decided forever was what she wanted.

“Chase, don’t ruin our friendship over this,” Rayna begged as I finally lifted my gaze to her.

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