Page 115 of From You to Me

“Thank you,” I replied sarcastically.

Mikey slid his arm over my shoulders, pulling me over to this side. “Damn, E! When did you get so aggressive?”

I rolled my eyes as I elbowed his ribs. “Shut up.”

My chest heated with awareness. I knew his eyes were on me, but I didn’t dare look up. I concentrated on my enchiladas like they would somehow answer all the questions deep diving into my head.

“Though I’m thankful for the food,” Katy muttered, leaning back after ravishing two burgers and a box of fires. “Why are you guys here again?”

“We thought we’d stop by to see our favorite girls.” A sly grin played on Mikey’s lips.

Lily’s hand stilled on her stylus, but her eyes remained downcast. It lasted for a second before she went back to her drawings, mumbling something out of frustration.

And even though the asshole played it off, Mikey’s eyes were on her the entire time. The tightness around the corner of his eyes suggested he was worried about her.

It felt awkward to sit between their weird tension, but most of all, the unease heightened as I tried so hard to avoid the eye contact of the person sitting in front of me.

I couldn’t believe I was reduced to feeling like this inside my own fucking apartment.

“You all enjoy. I’m going to hit the sack,” I mumbled as I pushed myself up. I’d had enough of sitting here feeling like tiny little insects were constantly buzzing in the middle of my chest.

“Can I join too?” Mikey lifted a brow suggestively. “I would love to hit the sack with you, E.”

I rolled my eyes as I gave him a hard smack on the back of his head, while I mumbled a quick goodbye and darted out of there.

Fuck, finally. I sighed happily as I slid off my bra and got into a comfy sleep shirt.

The loud bantering outside my door was still going on in full swing but it didn’t bother me. I loved that the people who I called my family were in my home. It somehow made me feel safe and not so alone anymore.

A rattle sounded on my bedroom door before it creaked open.

I knew he wasn’t going to give up that easily.

Jay crept inside my room as quietly as a fading flame in the dead of the night. “Hey,” he mumbled, meeting my eyes.

“What if I was indecent? You can’t just barge in here without knocking,” I whisper-shouted although I had no idea why.

A smile tugged his lips. “I’ve seen every inch of you. I don’t think I would mind seeing you indecent.”

Heat blazed my heart, flushing my cheeks pink. “It’s not about that. It’s about respecting my privacy.”

“Fine, sorry.” He lifted his shoulder. The gleam in his eyes told me he wasn’t sorry at all.

I bit my lips, suppressing a sigh. “What are you doing here?”

In a stride, he was right before me. “I came to see you,” he said softly in an endearing voice that was making me feel all sorts of ways that I didn’t know whether I liked or not. “You looked sad, and I missed you.”

I was sad, and I did miss him, but I did not admit it.

“That’s not a good enough reason,” I muttered.

He traced the depths of my soul with his bright blues that seemed darker from the moonlight streaming through the escaped curtains. “It’s a good enough reason for me.”

“It still doesn’t matter. You need to leave.”

He tucked a soft strand behind my ear. “How are you?” he asked, completely ignoring my command.

I shrugged. “Fine.”

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