Page 92 of Clichés & Curses

But after everything that had happened between us, Colton might not want anything to do with me. We could possibly just remain friends and be civil enough, while still being partners for ASL class for the rest of the semester.

Either way, I had to let him know what I felt about him, and be vulnerable with him just as he had been with me.

No more hiding.

If overcoming this fear meant taking it one step at a time, then that moment would start off with sending one simple text.

With my phone still in my hands, I opened my text chain with Colton and typed out my message.

Clara:

Hey. Can we talk?

Chapter Nineteen

Colton:

See you tomorrow.

My eyes stayed locked on Colton’s last text as my mind pondered how rude it would be on a scale of one to ten, if I were to come up with a random excuse to avoid this confrontation, less than fifteen minutes before he got there.

Our conversation the previous night had barely lasted a few messages. After asking him if we could talk, I had quickly followed up with another text, saying that we could meet up at ‘the spot’ if he was free the next day.

It was officially the next day, and here I was, sitting with my legs folded, and my back against the tree trunk.

I wasn’t nervous per se. Well, that’s a lie. I was a nervous wreck; it got to a point that I ended up arriving thirty minutes earlier than we had decided on. This was just to give me ample time to work up the courage on what I wanted—no, needed—to say to Colton.

I wasn’t leaving until I got my words out to him.

But that didn’t mean I was looking forward to it.

Breathing out a sigh, I locked my phone and put it on top of my backpack, my hand accidentally brushing against the plastic bag containing two bubble tea cups.

Two bubble teas from our usual place.

I don’t know why I had decided to get them. But the moment I stepped out of the apartment, my feet were already heading to the bubble tea shop, before my mind could even register it. And now, here it was next to me, the plastic sticking to the cups caused by the condensation.

My hand itched to put a straw into one of them and take a sip, just so I had something else to focus on. But something about that just didn’t feel right. Ultimately, I decided to go back to my usual method to distract myself from the world.

Reading romance books.

Taking my copy ofBringing Down the Dukeout of my bag, I willed it to whisk me away.

It did work for a moment, and I didn’t even realize someone was there until I heard a question being asked.

‘Is that a new book you’re reading?’

My head snapped up towards the sound of the familiar voice, the one I didn’t know I had been missing.

‘Colton,’ I called out, my voice soft. I quickly put down my book and tried to stand.

Seeing what I was doing, Colton held out his hand in front of me.

My eyes went to his offered hand, and to his face, which had a warm smile greeting me. His gesture made me pause, remembering the last time he wanted to offer me his hand, and from the look on his face, he seemed to be thinking the same thing. But before I could give him a chance to pull his hand back, I placed one of my own in his. His eyes widened slightly at our clasped hands, before he slowly helped me up, his hold gentle.

And now here we were, standing face to face, as we let the silence envelop us.

Nervousness started to creep up on me once again as goosebumps prickled my arms. But it was the soft brushes on the back of my hand that helped me stay grounded and kept the fear at bay.

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