Page 106 of Chasing After You
Henry moves to climb out of the pool, combing his wet hair out of his face. “Mirabelle, that’s not . . .”
“That’s not what?” I ask, unable to keep the sharp edge out of my voice. He falls silent, water dripping from his clothes that cling to his body as he stops a few feet away from me. “Actually, please just forget I said anything at all. Like I said, it’s not important.”
“It is important, I just . . . I don’t know,” he repeats, and I think I hate those three words more than I hate the word obviously.
“I get it. You don’t know. Why don’t you let me know when you do know something.”
I turn on my heel, stomping inside to retreat to my room, where I should have stayed in tonight, wondering how everything could have gone so wrong.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Henry
I FUCKED UP. I know it, and I’ve spent the last two weeks paying for it too. I’m impressed by how successful Mirabelle’s been at avoiding me, taking full advantage of the team having last weekend off for our bye week to fly out and see JJ. She’s ensured that anytime she’s standing close enough for me to talk to her, there are enough people in the room that we can’t speak freely without everyone knowing the truth about our relationship.
On the bright side, my image has never looked better.
Too bad I feel like an asshole.
I could have said anything other than “I don’t know,” but I froze. When I told Mirabelle it’s never felt that way, I meant I’ve never felt she was using me to get something. I didn’t mean that I’ve never felt that way toward her, because I have, and I do.
She caught me off guard, and I know I’m an idiot for not recognizing Mirabelle’s feelings, as well as my own.
I’ve been denying my feelings for Mirabelle since the first time she kissed me, if not longer. She’s everything I never let myself consider, because I think I knew that I’d rather live my entire life seeing her as a friend, than have to pretend I don’t know what it’s like to have those intimate moments with her.
To make matters worse, Quinn and Wilson have been bugging me about Mirabelle’s mood, and I’m this close to snapping at them to mind their own damn business.
I hear the familiar click of Mirabelle’s heels behind me.“Allons-y.”38
I turn my phone off, forgetting about Stacey’s email I was looking at, to follow her. I should be happy Mirabelle’s my shadow again today, because it means I get to be near her, but I hate the spark missing in her. Mirabelle shines brightly in a room regardless of who is around her, but it’s her spark that’s infectious.
Tom is hovering a few feet away and I’m glad that as upset as Mirabelle is with me, she didn’t fire him to prove a point.
“I didn’t think you were going to be with me today,” I say, trying to start a conversation.
“I didn’t want to, but Stacey is busy. I’m going as your fake girlfriend, and I’m supposed to be gathering information about the profile we’re doing to see how you’ll do in a test demographic without being tied to me,” she says, and my shoulders stiffen at the idea of Mirabelle and me not being an us. “Is it a problem I’m going with you?”
Mirabelle’s dark eyes watch me, and I shake my head. “It’s not a problem, Mira. We’re friends,” I say, trying to keep the peace.
She quickly turns away from me, without saying anything, and Tom shakes his head at me behind her, telling me what I already know. That probably wasn’t the right thing to say, and I lengthen my strides to catch up to her.
Unfortunately, before I can try to fix it, Quinn walks around the corner, his face lighting up when she smiles at him.
“Hey, Mira. You busy making Henry look a lot better than he actually is?” he teases, but my jaw clenches as my girl laughs. I can’t even get her to look at me for more than a few seconds, but she can laugh and smile at Quinn?
“Unfortunately, yes,” she says, and I refuse to let anything come out of my mouth. I know I lost that right when Mirabelle told me about her feelings, and I said nothing back.
“Are we still on for tonight?” Quinn asks, and my blood boils underneath my skin.
“Sorry to break this up, but I have somewhere to be, which means Mira does too.”
Quinn startles, caught off guard by the harshness of my tone and Mirabelle shoots me a glare. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you late for anything,” he says, and I know I’m being a territorial asshole, but I don’t care.
I need to go for a run. One long enough that I’m able to clear my head and come up with a plan to tell Mirabelle I have feelings for her. I can’t stand not being on speaking terms.
We walk away, and Mirabelle’s mumbling under her breath, low enough that I can’t hear her. She’s probably wishing I would go to hell, but I’m already there. I sigh, shoving my hands into my pockets as I keep pace with her.
She looks incredible today. Her red blouse is tucked into a black pencil skirt, highlighting her narrow waist, and I can see a hint of lace if I angle my head the right way—
