Page 72 of Don't Love the Boy Next Door
“You never make me uncomfortable,” I say.
He smiles in relief. “I’m glad to hear that.”
We both grin at each other and then stand there in awkward silence. Again.
Despite the weirdness, I feel good that I put myself out there. Empowered. If I was able to confront my crush, I can do anything, right?
The room is painfully quiet. When I look at Ethan and Cody, I find that neither of them has left yet. Well, Cody is inches from the door. He must have been just out the door when he heard me confess my feelings to Eric. They’re both watching us like we’re on TV. Cody averts his gaze and opens the door while Ethan gives me thumbs up.
I turn back to Eric and give him another smile. “I love the new song.”
His face brightens even more, like I just made his day. “Thanks. It’s…” He rubs the back of his neck. “It’s based on real life. My real life, I mean.”
“You’re saying…?”
He nods. “Yeah. The girl is you.”
That makes me flush with elation. A part of me suspected it, but I guess I wasn’t ready to see it.
“So…I’m like your muse?” I joke.
He gazes into my eyes, and my heart skips a beat. “I think you are. You’ve inspired me to write the songs.”
“I have?”
“Yeah. I was having major writer’s block one night and then I heard you singing during Phoenix’s live stream.”
“Broadway night.”
“Exactly. I was so inspired by your voice that I broke through the writer’s block.”
Wow. I’ve never inspired anyone before. No, that’s not true, because many of Phoenix’s fans have told me I’ve inspired them, whether to pursue theater and acting or singing, or something else. But I don’t know any of those people personally. And theydon’t know me well. It’s different with Eric, because he’s seen my good side and the bad. And he still feels inspired by me.
“I don’t know what to say,” I say with a nervous laugh.
“Don’t say anything. Just continue being you.”
We smile at each other. Just stand there smiling at each other. It’s like time has stopped and we have all the time in the world to soak each other in.
Until Ethan says, “You guys are so darn cute.”
Eric frowns at him, like he forgot about him for a second. “What are you still doing here?”
He grins. “This is finally happening. You guys have been crushing on each other forever.”
“I wouldn’t say forever,” I say the same time he says, “Has it beenthatobvious?”
“Yep,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s been very obvious. I think you two are the only ones who didn’t realize it.”
Eric and I look at each other. Then we laugh.
And then we stand there in awkward silence again.
“Um, it’s getting late. I think I should head home.”
“Watch out for traffic,” Eric says with a wink.
That makes me laugh. “I will.”
