Page 43 of Captured Love

“Just water for now. Since I’m driving,” Knox responds a second later.

The woman nods and walks back to the bar. Knox studies me for a moment, and I can tell he's weighing whether to say something.

“So,” he finally begins, “why the hesitation?”

I fiddle with the corner of the menu, not really reading it. “Hesitation about what?”

“About tonight.” He pauses, and I feel his eyes boring into me. “About spending time with me so that I can clear the air.”

I look up, meeting his gaze head on. This is the moment where I could either lie and make things easier in the short term or tell the truth and potentially complicate everything.

“Knox,” I start slowly, choosing my words wisely, “it's not that I don't appreciate you making an effort. It's just... last time things moved too fast and?—”

“I freaked out and took it out on you,” he finishes for me.

I slowly nod. “Yeah. You did.”

And that’s something he could never take back.

17

KNOX

This underlying tension between Selene and I has been simmering for a while, but it has now hit an all-time high. Not that I didn’t expect this when I asked her to come out with me this evening in order to ‘clear the air’.

“That's why I wanted to talk,” I say, leaning forward. “To make things right.”

Selene's eyes drift back to the menu, but I know it’s because she doesn’t want to look at me. “And once again, I appreciate it but?—”

“But you're scared it'll happen again,” I interject, trying to soften my tone. “That I'll freak out and hurt you. Selene, I get it. I really do.”

She sighs, closing the menu and setting it aside. “It's not just that I'm scared, Knox,” she says. “It's that I don't know if I can go through it again. The whiplash was... hard. I know we were casual, but for that to happen was insane.”

Silence follows her statement. I can almost see her calculating an escape route, weighing the cost of staying versus the cost of running now while she still has the chance. This isuncharted territory for me because, usually, I'm the one bailing before things get too real. The irony isn't lost on me.

“I was an idiot,” I say, breaking the silence that had started to stretch uncomfortably long. “A complete and utter idiot. You have every right to be pissed.”

“Pissed?” She snorts, a bitter twist of a smile playing at her lips. “Knox, this isn't about being angry. If I were just pissed, it would be so much simpler.”

“Then what is it?” I ask, though I already know. Or at least, I think I do, but I’m not ready to voice my opinion. This is her time, her opportunity to tell me everything she’s been feeling.

She doesn't answer right away, and during that time, we’re served our glasses of water and her sangria. Instead, she takes a sip of water and studies our surroundings before her eyes land back on me.

“I was hurt. Part of it was your words, but…the other part of it is how I view myself.”

I expected her to say something along the lines of how much I hurt her, but I wasn’t expecting the rest of that sentence. “How you view yourself?”

“Yeah,” she says, swirling her sangria, watching the fruit spin in a lazy orbit. “Knox, I’ve heard about your type. They're... different from me.”

I let the weight of her words sink in. I never thought Selene was the type to care about labels or what other people said. She always seemed so sure of herself, so confident. But now, seeing this vulnerable side of her, I realize just how deep my actions have cut.

“Selene,” I start, but she holds up a hand to stop me.

“I'm not saying that to fish for compliments or reassurance,” she says firmly. “I just need you to understand where I'm coming from. When you pulled away like that, it wasn't just confusing. It made me question everything. Why did you entertain theseconversations with me? Or why did you want to have sex with me in the first place, if I was just some kind of... experiment for you?”

“An experiment?” The word tastes like bile in my mouth. “You think that little of me?”

“I don't know what to think,” she admits. “That's the problem.”

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