Page 25 of Second Down Darling

Jake’s eyes go soft. “You’ve always had a bigheart.”

Don’t. Read. Into. This.Because the moment he remembers why he’s upset with me, he’ll yank back those charming smiles, and I’ll be devastated all overagain.

Wanting to get this interaction over as soon as possible, I pull Duke toward the passenger side of Jake’s car and get in. Duke hops in my lap withoutprompting.

Jake smiles again, and it makes my heart catapultpainfully.

We drive in silence through the winding, desolate road that leads back to mysubdivision.

There’s one benefit to the darkness, though. It makes mebrave.

Jake deserves to know the truth about why I left. Billy is right. I have to stop being such acoward.

I motion toward the white apartment building. “There, on thecorner.”

“This is where you live? Because I’m just down thestreet.”

Of course he is. Always so close but so faraway.

And then, with my heart pounding in my throat, I say the words I’ve been dreading. “I had feelings for you, Jake. That’s why I left.” I’ve been in love with him since we were fourteen, but I’m not brave enough to go thatfar.

When he doesn’t say anything, I glance at him. His lips part, like he’s about to say something but forgot what it was. I decide to put him out of his misery and fill the uncomfortable silence. “I couldn’t sit there one more day while my sister bragged about all the times you guys screwed. Or listen to you guys fuck in the other room. Or watch how she treated you like crap while you accepted it like it was your due. So Ileft.”

Stunned. That’s the only way to describe hisexpression.

He swallows, his eyes remorseful. “I—I didn’t know. Truly, I had noidea.”

“Now you do.” I reach for the door handle and spit out the next words as quickly as possible. “I left you my new phone number in that note. I know you don’t believe me, but Idid.”

“Wait. There’s a lot to unpack there, and I have some things… things I need to tell youtoo.”

I shake my head. “Don’t make this more awkward. You finally got the truth now, okay? Let me go dig a hole and bury myself in it. Feel free to ignore me the next time we run into eachother.”

“Charlie.” His voice is soft. Gentle. It sends chills up myarms.

“It’s late, Jake. Isn’t Buffy or Yvette waiting for you athome?”

Without waiting for a reply, I jump out of the car, and fortunately, Duke follows. I bump into the girls on the first floor as they head out, the smell of potpourri wafting from their apartment. Too upset to speak, I wave as I frantically rush up the stairs. Fortunately, Roxy isn’t home, so I’m free to wallow in my own stupidmisery.

Once I’m locked in my room, I fling myself on my bed and let out all thetears.

Then I swear to myself this is the last time I let myself fall apart over JakeRamirez.

10

JAKE

Thunderstruck,I sit there and watch Charlie race into her building. A light eventually appears on the second floor, and I catch a glimpse of her blonde hair streaking across her apartment through the sliding glass door on the patio before she disappearsagain.

What the hell justhappened?

I don’t remember driving home, but all of a sudden, I’m in mydriveway.

Charlotte had feelings for me. That’s why she left.I’m still so shocked, I turn off my car and sit there and stare into thedarkness.

A million questions race through my mind. First of all, how was I so fucking clueless? Charlie always gave me such neutral, almost emotionless looks over the years we were friends, but tonight, it was like seeing behind that wall for the first time. There was so much pain in her eyes, I wanted to lift her onto my lap and hug her until her beautiful smilereturned.

I think back to our year together at NTU. At all the times she’d look away when Dakota threw herself on my lap. At the way I’d sometimes catch Charlie staring at me, but then she’d act like she was just spacing out. How she’d go quiet when Dakota joked about her neverdating.

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