Page 68 of Meet Me at the Metro

“Like this?”

“Yes,” he smiles. “Like that. Now, go ahead and try running through thatC Majorscale again. And no more whining.”

“I am not whining!”

“You are,” he chuckles. “Go on. Try again.”

I sigh but do exactly what he asks, stroking each key with slow and careful precision.

“There you go,” he commends as my fingers dance along the notes of the scale without any notable flaws. “See! That was nearly perfect, Ellie.”

“Nearly,”I giggle. “I’m shit at this.”

“Whatever, you’re doing fine. In fact, I’m almost positive that you’ll be playing likeChopinin no time.”

“Shut up!” I swat his hands away. “You’re a smart ass.”

Connor’s smile reaches his dark eyes as they catch hold of mine. Suddenly, everything turns quiet between the two of us. He stares at me so sweetly that I find myself questioning the intention behind his gaze. Before I’m fully aware of the change that’s transpired between us, his lips are on mine. I pull my mouth away from his within a second’s notice.

“I’m sorry,” he immediately apologizes.

“It’s okay…”

A frown flashes across his face, and I can’t help but feel horrible.

I never intended to hurt him this way. I think a part of me has been in denial of the possibility of him seeing me as anything more than a friend because I’ve always known, in the end, that my heart couldn’t help but love him as anything more than that—a friend.

Nothing can stop the guilt that comes when he quickly stands from the piano bench we’re sharing and starts to gather his things.

“Connor, wait,” I plead. “I-I just—”

“It’s fine, Ellie. Really, it’s fine.”

“I don’t want you to be upset.”

“It’s okay.” A bright red settles on his face. “Seriously, it’s fine. That was stupid of me.”

“I-it wasn’t stupid…”

“It was,” he nods adamantly. “I just—I misinterpreted this thing between us. You don’t like me that way, and I see that now. And I’m just sorry, Ellie. I shouldn’t have tried to push it.”

He bolts toward the door, but I grip his wrist before he can get too far. “Connor, please. I don’t want this to mess up our friendship.”

Friendship.

That word hits him hard. I can tell by the way he pulls his hand away and sheepishly forces his eyes off mine.

I don’t know if I should tell him about Theo to help soothe the burn of that truth or not, but before I can stop them, words are tumbling out of my mouth. “It’s just that I started seeing someone.”

I immediately regret the confession when Connor’s frown deepens. “You’re seeing someone? Are you back with John or something?”

“No, of course not.”

“So you’re seeing someonenew?”

“Well, y-yeah.”

“That was fast,” he mutters.

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