Page 32 of All I Want Is Love
“You can have one of mine. I think it would be cool if you wore it and then put a blazer over it. I bet it will make you look hot and stylish. You have the body for it.”
“I am not muscular, though.”
“You are athletic.” Robin smiles. “I bet Soren would like it too.”
I look up at him. “What?”
He blinks. “What?”
I narrow him with a glare – or at least I hope it looks intimidating enough to be a glare, judging by Robin’s grin, I doubt it’s working. “What are you getting at?” I finally ask.
“I am getting at you and Soren, hopefully, getting it on.”
I stare at him, my mouth dropping open. So much for looking intimidating. Instead, I probably look like a fish gasping for air. “What?” I squeal. I don’t want to lie to his face by denying it, mostly because I don’t know how Soren would like to handle it, but also because I can’t lie to save my life.
“I am just saying,” he muses. “You went hiking together. No one ever goes hiking with Soren.”
“Why not?” I blink. “It was my first time going on a hike, but it was fun.”
“Because he never asks anyone to join him.”
At that, he finally has my full attention. “What do you mean?”
From what I heard, it felt more like them rejecting Soren’s attempts to invite them on a hike.
“Not that I enjoy hiking. Aspen doesn’t like it much either, but we would go with him, if he asked. He never does. When I asked him once, he said he enjoys doing it alone. The last time he took someone, he was still with his ex, and that was three years ago.”
It’s the first time I hear about Soren’s ex, though they did briefly mention him before, but it’s the first time I hear one of them actively talk about him. Makes me wonder what happened. Still, other things are more pressing right now.
“S-so, why did he ask me?” I stutter.
“You tell me,” Robin grins shamelessly. “I just know, it has to mean something.”
“Maybe it’s pity,” I offer. I feel bad for even suggesting it, but part of me still feels like Soren took pity on me. It makes my stomach churn in anxiety. I want him to like me, not to pity me. “When I arrived here, I was a mess. Not to say I am not a messanymore, but my meds are working, and I acclimatized, if you want to call it that way.”
“That’s not it,” Robin says. “We didn’t take pity on you.” He pauses. “Well, no, that’s wrong. When Aspen told us how bad you feel, we felt pity, because every decent person would feel bad, but we didn’t act on it. If it was just pity, we would have helped Aspen decorate the place and only meet you when he brought you along.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I mutter.
“It does. Soren would never pander to someone out of pity. And I wouldn’t befriend anyone out of pity either.”
I tilt my head. “I feel like you would totally be nice enough to do that.”
At that, Robin blushes. “I would, wouldn’t I?” he groans. “But I swear, I am not hanging out with you because of it. I told you once, it’s fun being with you, because… you are more like I am.” He pauses. “I don’t mean that as an offence.”
“I didn’t take any,” I reassure him. “Being like you is not an insult.”
“Aspen and Soren are confident men. They are the typical strong and attractive guys people feel drawn to. You and I are more vulnerable. I love them, and it’s not like I can’t be vulnerable with them, but it’s different with you. You just get it. Does that make sense?”
“I guess it does,” I admit.
“And that’s why it’s even more special that Soren took you hiking. He doesn’t share that part of his life easily.”
Instead of rebuffing his words once more and listening to my own insecurities, I try to hear and understand what Robin just said. Hiking means something to Soren, which is why he never takes anyone along. It’s his alone time for whatever reason, but he allowed me to get into his very private space.
My heart flutters before the butterflies continue to my stomach and start to riot there. I’ve been crushing on Soren ever since I saw him for the first time. But this is not a crush anymore for me. Maybe it’s silly to fall for somebody I barely know so fast, but I can’t help it. My heart doesn’t seem to listen to reasoning.
twelve
