Page 88 of Ice Darling
“It’s fine.” Cordelia fiddles with her purse. “What did you think about Brennon?”
“The truth?”
“Lie to me.” She chuckles.
I smile. “Honestly…”
“Honestly?”
“I don’t care for the guy.” I frown when I remember how that schmuck had looked at her. “But he seemed to care a lot about you.”
Her eyes twinkle. “Jealous?”
Yes. “What right do I have to be jealous?”
“You tell me.”
She’s playing games, and while I want to engage, I can also feel myself getting a tad too attached to her. It’d be best not to get too close.
“Want to listen to music?”
“Are you avoiding the conversation?”
I fiddle with the dial, and soft jazz fills the car, a genre more my style.
“You enjoyed giving Brennon the impression that we were dating,” she teases. “You can be honest.”
I glance over at her, noting the way the lampposts outside create art pieces of shadows and light against her high cheekbones. “You first.”
“What does that mean?”
“Who’s Gwen?”
It’s like a switch is flipped. The flirty energy fizzles into a somber one. Cordelia stares at her hands, and I instantly regret bringing up the topic.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I say gently.
“I don’t want to,” she admits. “Not yet.”
“Okay,” I accept.
She swallows. “The truth is online. It’s not a secret. I just…find it hard to talk about it.”
“That’s okay.” I notice she’s shaking just like she did in the restaurant. The urge to hold her hand again rises in me, but I hesitate to touch her.
I don’t have the pretext of “revenge” this time. And though the two of us keep dancing on the edge of the line, I’m careful about crossing it.
Instead, I offer, “Want to knowmydeepest secret?”
The shaking stops, and she looks up at me, her eyes wide and curious.
“There’s a rumor about me wearing Hello Kitty boxers…”
Cordelia rolls her eyes and groans. “No way.”
“The rumors are true.”
She bursts out laughing, covering her face as her shoulders shake.
