Page 33 of Besties
He sighed and shook his head.
“Then I can’t do that either.” I crossed the room and pulled a chair from the meeting room table, turned it around, and sat down close to Richie. “Okay, get it out of your system. You’ll feel better.”
“I really doubt it.” He fidgeted with the arm of the chair, scraping his nail over the fabric, the rhythmic sound rather soothing. “I wasn’t completely truthful with you about my engagement.”
“Okay.”
“It did happen the way I said it. She dumped me, but I wasn’t upset. In fact, I was relieved. I thought I would be walking on clouds after she said yes, but that never happened. When I talked with my mom, she was sympathetic, but she asked me why I didn’t seem to be more hurt. I came clean and told her I wasn’t.”
He looked up at me, and his eyes were shiny. I reached out and put a hand over his, and for a moment, he simply stared at them.
“Why weren’t you?”
“Because as nice as Jenna was—or I thought she was—there was always this… I dunno, wall between us. She was a good friend, but after I sat at home for a while, I realized that’s all she ever was. A friend.”
“Okay, but what does this have to do with us?”
He took a quick breath. “Jenna wasn’t the one I wanted to be with.”
A spark flickered in my heart. Was Richie saying what I thought he was? I refused to get my hopes up, because if he wasn’t, I would be devastated.
“Oh?”
He glanced up. “Remember the first time I asked if you needed a hug?”
“Of course. It’s one of the best memories I have. That was the day I realized someone cared for me, even if my father didn’t.”
“I cared for you even before that. When we were in second grade and I had the choice of the empty desks, I looked around the room and I saw you. I knew where I needed to sit, because my stomach got fluttery. I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew I wanted to be by you.”
Holy shit. Hewassaying what I’d hoped he was. I had to resist the urge to throw myself into his arms, because it was clear he wasn’t done yet.
“So I got to know you, and the more I did, the more I liked you. I thought it was just friends, you know? But when you started heading down that path where you were so angry, I wanted to do something to let you know you weren’t alone, and that I would always be there for you. It’s why I offered you a hug. And that first one? It opened floodgates in me that had me in a panic, because all the feelings I’d always had were suddenly crystal clear in my mind.”
He turned away, staring at the desk.
“I wasn’t upset when Jenna dumped me, because if I had married her, it wouldn’t have been fair. She would never be the most important person in my life, because that spot was already taken. Had been since the first day of second grade.”
“Richie, I—”
“You don’t have to return my feelings,” he blurted out. “And I’m happy just being your friend, and I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. I didn’t want to talk about it, but you kept pushing, and I—”
Panic flitted in his eyes as he looked around wildly. I guessed he was trying to figure out an escape route.
“I should go.”
He got up, but I grabbed his wrist. “It doesn’t matter where you go, because I’m always going to follow you.”
“But you heard what I said.”
“Yeah, I did. And you wanna know something? I’ve been dying to tell you the same thing for years.” I stood and moved closer to him. Grabbing his shoulders, I pulled him down until we were nearly the same height. Then I did something I’d dreamt of for most of my life.
I closed my eyes, leaned forward, and brushed our lips together. And all at once, for the first time in forever, everything was right with my world.
Chapter9
“Max?”
I stepped back and opened my eyes. All I could see was confusion in his expression. “I’ve been wanting to do that for years.”
