Page 59 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

If only she sawallof it. All of me.

‘I like you,’ she says, touching the gemstone on the necklace around her neck. ‘Maybe even differently than I did before? I don’t know. Spending more time with you wouldn’t make me sad, Dax. You’re probably the nicest guy I’ve ever met.’

‘I beat up your boyfriend. That’snotnice.’

‘It was for me. The girl he was hurting. You took care of a guy threatening me, and then you made sure I felt safe even though my request was completely unreasonable. Is it weird I’ve thought of that night more than once since it happened?’

My heart speeds up. I didn’t realize she saw it like that. ‘The fight?’

She shakes her head. ‘The sleeping part.’

OK, so she either noticed my nerves, or she felt what I felt. Either way, it’s a step closer to her realizing how I feel about her.

‘Not weird. I have too.’

‘You’ve thought about it?’

‘Yeah. A lot, actually.’

I like you, Hollyn. I love you. Go on a date with me. I’m not just your brother’s best friend.Say anything here, Dax. Anything to finally get this off your chest.Instead, my mouth goes with: ‘I’m sorry Celeste interrupted us. I could tell you weren’t thrilled but I felt like I couldn’t say no.’

‘You can read me like a book, can’t ya? That’s a little scary.’

‘It’s all coming back to me the longer you’re here.’

‘We can always hang out. I live with you, for god’s sake. Don’t ignore Sydney because I’m back. I want you to be happy. Text her.’

Damn. She’s not going to let this go. ‘OK.’ I pull my phone from my pocket, sending Sydney a text while she watches. But only because if I don’t, she’ll ask questions I’m clearly not ready to answer.

‘See. The ball is in motion. Or maybe theballs.’ She laughs at her own joke, nudging my shoulder with hers. ‘You’ll be de-stressed in no time.’

Doubtful, Hols. Seriously, doubtful.

14

HOLLYN

The Flight Home…

I sit down in the window seat, pulling my seatbelt on before doing anything else. Not that a seatbelt will save me if this giant air rocket goes down, but it gives me a little peace of mind.

I’m already regretting telling Dax to text Sydney. I feel like he was trying to tell me something he couldn’t quite find the words for. He wants to be friends again? I thought wewerefriends. He wants to spend more time with me? We have been together literally twenty-four-seven lately. I mean, he said I was pretty. I don’t know what to do with that. Was he flirting with me? Trying to ask me out? What?

‘You think you can do another week?’ he asks, sitting next to me.

‘I’m in it till you win it.’

He laughs.

‘Seriously,’ I say, glancing over at him as the plane boards. ‘I’m proud of you.’

‘Yeah?’

The woman shoving her bag into the overhead compartment heads to a seat in front of us. She looks back at me, her eyebrows raised before finally turning away and sitting down.

‘Yeah. I liked the old you, but I completely respect who you’ve become. You’ve made something of yourself, found your passion, and you’ll inspire others through this show. That’s amazing. I thinkyou’reamazing.’

The slight smile on one side of his face is cute. ‘I don’t know what to say to that,’ he says. ‘Other than I feel the same about you.’

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