Page 46 of Halftime

That depended on how the talk went, but she was right. I knew she was right, but I’d never wanted to do the wrong thing more. “Okay.”

Faith pulled off her coat, and I did the same with mine. Then she pulled out a desk chair for me. She set it down at the far side of her room and pointed for me to sit in it while she sat down on the bed.

I sat, unsure what to do with my arms, or legs, or anything really. I was cautiously optimistic after that kiss, but I wasn’t sure what Faith wanted. At least there was no more doubt about what I wanted.

I wanted her.

“First, I apologize for not answering your text.”

She had ghosted me. There hadn’t been any problem with her phone like Cooper had suggested. That made my stomach clench and my mind focus on something other than touching Faith. I wanted some answers.

“Why didn’t you?”

Her gaze skittered away from me. “Because I was afraid it was a pity fuck.”

It took time for those words to sink in. They didn’t make sense. And when they did, I was angry. “What the hell, Faith?”

“I’m sorry, Seb, but I’d been crying, and I was a mess, and I’ve seen the girls you’ve dated. I thought… Well, I didn’t feel confident. You kept asking if I was sure, but I didn’t ask you. I thought maybe you were just horny or felt like you wanted to comfort me or… I dunno. My mind was scrambled. And I thought I was over you, so it shouldn’t bother me, but—”

I latched on to the words that grabbed my attention. “Youthoughtyou were over me?”

She was twisting strands of her hair around her finger, watching the ends of her fingers turning red, not meeting my gaze.

“I was so angry at you, and so hurt—”

“But, Faith, I swear, I never—”

“IknowSeb, I get it. I do. But for a whole year, I thought youhad, and it took a while to get past that. Sometimes I still forget. And after we…hooked up—”

“It wasn’t a hookup, Faith.” I knew I sounded intense. I felt intense. I needed her to know that I didn’t do hookups, and that I especially didn’t do them with her.

She looked at me, brow creased, teeth pulling on her lip. “No?”

I shook my head. “That’s not me.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry, but that’s where my head was at. I was worried about my grandmother and was kind of messed up.”

Fuck. I should have thought of that. If I hadn’t been focused on me, and my being butt-hurt, I might have considered what she was going through.

“I wasn’t sure what you wanted, and I didn’t know what I wanted, and I was really confused.”

I just wished she’d felt like she could talk to me. Damn it, I should have tried to reach out again. Fuck my stupid pride.

“I’m sorry, Faith. I should’ve realized you had a lot going on. I didn’t need to make it worse. Have you made up your mind?”

I thought she must have. She’d come to the party and kissed me. We were here, talking. And she’d said she’dthoughtshe’d gotten over me, and that sounded to me like she hadn’t, not really.

“Cooper.” She rested her head in her hands. “I cannot believe I’m taking advice from Cooper, of all people.”

I grinned. “I know. Same here. But he’s a good friend, even if he’s not really someone who does relationships.”

She eyed me suspiciously. “What did he tell you?”

“That I need to figure out what I want and then talk to you. I went to the party looking for you.” Well, that was why I’d been there, though I hadn’t technically looked for her. I’d trusted Cooper and waited to get a signal from him. Then Faith had come up and…that must have been the signal. I owed Cooper.

“I found you first.” Faith’s expression… Was it getting flirty?

“Cooper told me not to talk to you until he did.”

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