Page 121 of Talk Nerdy To Me
“I said all the wrong things, and I couldn’t make it better,” I manage to say in a clam manner.
My attention wanders to the slice of chocolate cake on the table that I never ate because I was saving it for Base. The cake is always the best part. I was going to share it with him.
“I already knew I wasn’t ready for a functioning, normal relationship, so I couldn’t give him what he was asking for. I was emotionally prepared for this to end; it’s just earlier than expected,” I add, still staring at the cake.
It’s the best chocolate cake in Sterling Shore, and it always gets completely gone so fast at these things. He really would have liked it.
Dane exhales heavily as he drops back to a seat.
“I’ll take you home,” Harley says, drawing my attention to her as she gives me what is decidedly a pitying look.
“It’s not his fault. He wasn’t unreasonable. I’d appreciate it if no one said anything to him about this,” I decide to say, just to ensure no one mistakes this as hard feelings. “I’m just not to the point in my life where I’m capable of even starting a real relationship. I still need help communicating, and that’s an understandable issue for him that simply can’t be rectified so abruptly.”
Harley comes toward me, but I drop my clutch to the table.
“Can I have the rest of this?” I ask, picking up the champagne bottle.
“There’s not much left,” Kode tells me as I swirl the fourth of a bottle. “Let me see if they have more in the—”
“I don’t need more than that. More would be a really unhealthy life choice,” I state blandly as I grab my slice of cake as well.
It shouldn’t go to waste.
Kode sits back down, and they all stay still and quiet, staring at me the way they do Bananas when she’s cornered and likely to do something really insane.
I’m not going to do anything insane.
Harley picks up my wet clutch, tucking it under her arm.
Turning, I carry the cake and champagne toward the doors again.
Harley wordlessly follows me out, and her car is valeted to us before she even has to draw her ticket.
I have no idea who opens the door for me as I sit down, but I grimace when I remember I’m soaked through.
“I forgot to towel off. I’m sor—”
“It’s fine,” Harley says softly as she reaches over and pats my hand. “Really, completely, and truly fine, Britt.”
I nod, grateful she’s so flippant with her vehicle’s care, as she starts driving us away.
A shaky breath comes out of me as another tear follows the same warm path as the last.
“You went into this assuming that by the end, you’d remain friends, because you built a friendship,” Harley says in a quiet voice as I take a sip of the champagne. “The build-up and the sex was fun, but it’s the friendship that made you walk around with perma-grin, Britt. I know you well enough to know that much.”
I just nod, not disagreeing.
“Did he leave the door open for friendship?” she asks me.
His words instantly replay in my head, and the weight on my chest gets heavier.
“He’s sending Sticks to come collect his things from my house. That would imply he’s actively going to avoid running into me. I don’t think we’re going to be…” I let the words trail off when my voice goes rasp and another tear falls.
“Then you didn’t emotionally prepare yourself for this, because he wasn’t supposed to just walk away. It’s okay to cry, Britt,” she goes on as the first choked sob escapes me, and my shoulders start to shake as the weight on my chest presses down harder.
I drop the cake in my lap and quickly press the back of my hand to my mouth to muffle the next choked sob. But then they start hitting one right after another, until I can’t even muffle them anymore as the tears start pouring down as steadily as the unrelenting rain outside.
I feel the car pulling off the road and slowing as I double over and cover my face with both hands, the champagne tumbling to the floor and rolling as it spills what’s left.
