Page 34 of Never Say Never

I shake my head. “It’s not like that. We’re friends. That’s all.” My stomach churns. I know there is nothing going on with Daisy and me. I’m still surprised she agreed to it, but the pact is a short-term thing. It may get her into my bed, but nothing more than that.

I watch Daisy slip off her barstool, the corner of my mouth ticking up when she ignores the guy who’s trying to get her attention.

I tell myself to stay in my seat as I watch her cross the bar toward the restrooms, but it’s like telling a moth to stay away from the light; I can’t help myself. I’m getting up from my seat as soon as she disappears from my sight.

“Took you long enough,” Holden says, smiling smugly, but I ignore him, already well on my way to see Daisy.

My adrenaline is pumping when I watch her slip into the restroom. Leaning against the wall, I feel my heart rate pick up as I wait for her, and it strikes me that I’ve never been this excited to see a girl.

After what feels like forever, the bathroom door swings open, and Daisy walks out. Her eyes are on her dress as she straightens the fabric at her hips, but when she looks up, the energy in the air between us crackles. I take a small step toward her as shewalks closer. Then her eyes—as blue as the depths of the ocean—land on mine.

“What are you doing here?”.

“Having a drink with a friend?” The moment the words fall from my lips, her expression shifts.Got it,her eyes say.

“I didn’t realize you had gotten home from your road trip.”

I flinch, knowing why her gaze feels like ice water running down my spine. I should have called her while I was away. Texted. Anything. I realized that after I got back into town, and honestly, I don’t even have a good excuse for disappearing on her. When it comes to football, I just get so deep in the zone that it’s hard to focus on anything else. But it doesn’t mean I didn’t think about her every single day.

We’re silent in the dimly lit hallway for a few heartbeats, standing two feet away from each other as I scrub my hand over the scruff on my jaw.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

“Well, I’m still sorry I didn’t.”

She glowers. “It’s fine.”

I know that scowl intimately. It’s the same one she wore the day I told her the kiss was a mistake and couldn’t happen again.

She pushed me away after that day, and she’s doing it again now.

“It’s not fine. I can tell you’re upset.”

Her jaw hardens. “Don’t flatter yourself, Tuck. I’m not some Tucker Collins groupie sitting around waiting for you to text me. We have a pact, we’re not in a relationship. We don’t owe each other anything.”

I swallow as my chest tightens. “Do you remember when we were 16 and I kissed you?” I ask, taking one step closer to her so that we’re standing toe-to-toe in the darkened hallway. I reach out and tip her chin up until our eyes meet.

Daisy closes her eyes for a moment and when they open again, I can see she’s fighting something. “Never in a million years did I think you would kiss me,” she says softly, like she’s back in that moment all those years ago. She looks sad, or maybe it’s regret. But we both stay rooted in place, her eyes locked on mine. I fight the urge to pull her into me and kiss her

“I wanted to kiss you that whole summer. It took me months to work up the courage. It’s all I could think about. I was so worried you wouldn’t even kiss me back.”

Her eyes widen at my confession. “I thought it meant nothing to you.”

“Daisy, it was everything.”

A million more words left unsaid hang in the air between us, but where do we even start? Years of distance has taken its toll on us. Daisy’s walls are built so high, I’m not sure she even considers me a friend at this point.

I wonder if it hurt her as much as it hurt me when I had to push her away. I wonder if she ever really understood the reason why.

But suddenly, none of it matters. I just want a second chance. I want to try again.

“We used to swim at night.”

“Yeah,” she says. “We used to spend a lot of time together.”

“When was the last time?”

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