Page 80 of A Pizza My Heart

Her hand curls around her water glass as she brings it closer, clutching it like it’s a lifeline of some sort. Her knuckles begin to whiten with her grip before they slowly turn flesh colored again.

White.

Normal.

White.

Normal.

“Wren?” I press, the wait killing me.

“Sorry.” She licks her lips. “It’s just, I know if I ask this question, you’re going to answer it honestly, and your honesty might scare me.”

“Then don’t ask.”

“I have to.”

“Thenask.”

She nods. Her lashes flutter against her cheeks and she inhales a steadying breath. “Your story…the semi-autobiographical one? That girl…she really is me?”

“Yes.”

“The boy really is you?”

“Yes.” Now it’s my turn to shift in my seat, the strong teeth of nervousness biting at every inch of me.

“And the feelings…” Another flash of her tongue on her lips. Her teeth scrape against the rosy, kissable lines. “The, uh, the waiting…the feelings…are those real?”

I stop breathing.

This is it.

The moment I’ve been waiting for.

She’s holding her breath, clinging to the hope that I’ll speak up soon.

But I can’t.

I’m frozen.

My moment is here, and I can’t fucking speak.

She’s staring at me with those wide eyes, her gaze intense.

Tootsie rolls. Candy corn. Trash pandas.

I close my eyes.

“Yes.”

It’s a simple word, so easy to say—though sitting here in front of Wren, it feels like I’ve just spilled my fucking guts to her.

“I…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” I interrupt, panic spreading through me. I want her to answer more than anything in the world, yet…I don’t, because I’m not sure I can handle the rejection. “You don’t have to try to let me down easy. You can just ignore it. Pretend I never said a word. Actually”—I spread my arms wide and sit back in the booth—“just pretend it was all pretend.”

She snaps her mouth shut, lips falling into a thin line, then nods once.

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