Page 16 of Mr. Broody

His head rocked back, and he stared at the ceiling. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. My fingers tapped the edge of the table, and when he finally lowered his head, his eyes fell to my fingers.

“Oh my god, Henry. Tell me.” My voice rose, and although we were three stories down from the twins, I worried I could have woken them.

“I like you,” he blurted, and his fingers wrapped around the edge of the pool table until his knuckles turned white.

“That’s it? You like me?” It wasn’t until I processed the last five minutes that I connected the dots, but by then, Henry was already glaring at me.

“You know what I mean, Jade. I like you.” He repeated it slower, his gaze meeting mine.

“You like me?”

“How many times do I need to say it?” There was a bite to his tone that I’d learned over the years was fear. Henry only became short when he feared what the repercussions might be.

“As more than a friend?”

“Jade.” He groaned.

“Okay, I just wanted to clarify. Jeez.”

“Yes, as more than a friend.”

“Well, you took forever to tell me.”

He tilted his head.

I wasn’t always the easiest to get along with. Around that time, I’d had so many outbursts with my mom and sometimes Reed, only to feel guilty afterward and unable to understand why I’d gotten so mad in the first place.

“So?” he asked.

“So what?” I was still wrapping my head around what he’d said.

Henry liked me as more than a friend.

“What do you think about that?” His fingers loosened, and he stepped to the corner of the table, waiting for my reaction.

“How long have you felt that way?” I bit my lip and stepped to the corner, leaving the width of the pool table between us. One of us had to make what felt like a long trek to the other side of the pool table or we’d have to meet halfway.

“For a while.”

“And is that why you haven’t wanted to hang out as much?” It wasn’t his fault alone. It was both of us, but I felt it more from him, which I chalked up to his hockey schedule.

“I wanted to hang out, but I didn’t want to mess up and lose you.”

“Oh.” He had been staying away because he liked me.

“I have to know what you’re thinking right now.” He walked midway down the pool table, and I suspected he wasn’t going to put himself out there anymore until I gave him an answer. I would have to close the distance.

“I’m thinking that…” I turned the corner of the pool table, my pointer finger running along the felt edge. “You should have told me sooner.” I met him in the middle, and my fingers covered his. “Because I like you too.”

“As more than a friend?” His eyebrows rose and a smirk emerged on his gorgeous face.

“Yes, Henry, as more than a friend.”

“Just want to be sure.” He locked his fingers through mine and stared into my eyes. Had I never realized how transparent his blue eyes were? “Can I kiss you?”

I loved that he didn’t ask me again how I felt. He took my word for what it was without second-guessing. It showed how confident he was that I would never lie to him to save his feelings. And him being unsure about telling me was only because he didn’t want to lose me, and that made all those complicated feelings that had grown inside me about what compartment to put him in settle. I didn’t have to choose if he was my friend or my boyfriend. He could be both.

“You better.” I smiled.

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