Page 58 of Without You

This is the part that could be a little awkward. As vivid as the memory is, it was also buried pretty deep so I haven’t thought about it in years. Until this very moment, actually.

I lick my lips and rub them together.

Brody crosses his arms across his chest and scrunches his eyebrows. “Don’t stall, Katie. Explain.”

Taking a seat at the table, Brody joins me and I start in. “It was prom night, actually. She, well… she wasn’t happy. With me, I mean. I was in the bathroom and she and her friends came in. They cornered me and she got in my face.”

“Why?”

“She told me I had a boyfriend, which I obviously knew, and then said it would be good for me to remember the fact that I had a boyfriend. And that boyfriend wasn’t you.”

“What the hell? You’re not making any sense.”

“I’m not? It was her!”

“Okay, okay.” He holds up his hands and sits back. “Sorry. Go on.”

“She thought you and I were into each other, which, I guess knowing what I know now, maybe we were but neither of us acted on it, but then I didn’t know. I told you I had a crush on you, but I was with Tate then and I did like him. I was with him so, no offense, but I wasn’t thinking of other guys, including you.”

“None taken. I think.” He smirks.

“Anyway, she was staking her claim and wanted me to know that you would not be on my radar anytime soon. That you were hers and that was that and I should banish any thoughts of being with you.”

He turns his head and looks at me.

“I remember that night.”

“Do you?”

“I do. You were wearing a blue dress that flowed around your ankles and you looked more beautiful than I’d ever seen you look before. I kept looking at you. I know I did.”

“You… you remember what I wore to prom our junior year of high school?”

“Does that make me a creeper? It probably does.” He laughs. “But for real, it’s good for you to know that I’ve always thought you are beautiful. Even when we were younger. But, she probably saw it. I was seventeen and I’m sure I wasn’t great at hiding how beautiful I thought you were.”

“Wow,” I whisper, feeling my stomach warm at the idea of him looking at me all those years ago. He was wearing this tux that made him look like 007 and even though he was obviously completely out of his element, he looked so incredibly handsome. “I honestly had no idea but that means a lot to hear you say that. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Also. She was seriously pissed off at me that night, and I had no idea what I did.”

“Pissed how? What’d she do to you to make you scared?”

“Like I said, she cornered me in the bathroom. Well, when I dismissed it like she was crazy, she turned physical with me.”

“Physical?” he asks, his voice so low if he wasn’t incredibly angry right now, I would be turned on. He bites out a curse and stands up quickly, the legs of the chair making a loud scraping noise on the kitchen floor. Immediately, he begins to pace around the room with his hands on top of his head. When it seems like he’s cooled down, he returns to the chair and says, “You’re serious, aren’t you? Did she hurt you? Don’t lie to me, either. I want to know.”

I’d actually considered lying because it’s embarrassing that I was physically assaulted by a girl at prom only because she thought I was into her guy. But even if he hadn’t demanded I tell him the truth, I know I would have been honest. “Yes. I told her she was wrong and that you and I weren’t into each other, but that made her even more mad. She said she didn’t believe me for a second and then it was like she turned into a different person. Her face turned red and suddenly — no joke because it was completely out of nowhere — she slapped me across the cheek and shoved me backward. I was by the sink so I slammed into it and ended up getting a pretty big bruise on my lower back and hip.”

“What the fuck?” he growls.

“Yeah. It was messed up.”

“That’s more than messed up, Katie. That’s insane!”

“It was,” I agree. It was definitely insane. “I was so shocked that I didn’t know what to do. And honestly, she was really strong for a high school girl and I was scared because all her friends were there and none of them seemed fazed by her behavior. Before she left, she yanked on my hair and pulled my head back, got in my face and told me I’d better remember this the next time I felt the need to hang out with you. She seemed pretty determined to ruin my night and she succeeded. When I finally pulled myself together enough to walk back out to find Tate, I was a wreck and just wanted to go home. I told Tate that I’d gotten sick in the bathroom and he didn’t question it.”

“You should have told me,” he murmurs.

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