Page 100 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
I busied myself with pouring water into two glasses even though I could have used more wine. Handing one glass to him, I chugged mine on the way to the sofa.
He put his glass on the coffee table and sat beside me. “Luna, I . . .” Running his palms up his thighs, he took a deep breath. “I’ve never done well with conversations like this. I have a difficult time talking about my feelings, especially when I’m in the thick of them. But by staying quiet, I led you to believe that I don’t value our friendship. And I do.” Hesitantly, he put his hand on mine. “You’re important to me, Luna. I’m sorry my actions said otherwise. I know you’ve already given me many chances, but I promise to do better if you let me try.”
Truth rang in every word he said, and with his hand on mine, I felt the tremor in his fingers. I wanted to clasp them and tell him I forgave him. That things would be okay, and we were good.
But I couldn’t let him off the hook that easily—not when he hadn’t addressed the issue that had sparked this argument in the first place.
gabe
“What about thenext time we see each other in school?” Luna asked.
There was the million-dollar question. I’d spent the hours between our phone call and this conversation puzzling together how I could prove my sincerity. No amount of apologies would make a difference unless I could back them up with my actions.
“I won’t ignore you.” The promise felt lacking. It was the bare minimum, yet for now, it was the most that I could offer her. “Iswear I’m working on a better solution. I just need time to sort things out.”
Her lips pressed together in a smile that was empty of her usual joy, but she didn’t shake off my hand. I took that as a hopeful sign. “Time, huh?” she murmured.
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I’ll do it if I ruin myself trying.” I gently squeezed her hand, trying to communicate that I truly meant it. “I don’t want to lose you, Luna.”
Like she had before, she turned her hand over and made space for my fingers between hers.“I told you I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.”
“Careful, Professor.” She spoke in that light tone she used when teasing me, and I had never been more thankful to hear it again. “I’m starting to think you like me.”
You have no idea.“I do.”
“It’s—Oh.” She stared at me as though she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.
My words stunned me too. I scrambled for what to say next, and when she opened her mouth, I braced myself for her questions.
But then she bit her lip. “Hmm. So does that mean if I invited you to my birthday party, you’d say yes?”
My stomach clenched. “When you say party . . .”
“The girls are planning a whole club thing. Kriz is going to try to get them to let me in the night before my actual birthday so we can do the countdown there.”
The way it sounded, it wouldn’t only be Kriz and Chloe there. They’d likely invite Kai and a number of other students, some of whom I would probably know from class.
Luna sighed. “I understand if you can’t go. It was a hypothetical question, anyway.”
“I’ll look into it.” It should have been an instant yes, no questions asked. I hated that I couldn’t give it to her right now.
“I mean, I didn’t exactly invite you.”
But she wanted to.Iwanted her to. It was a major birthday, and I couldn’t imagine not being there with her to celebrate.
I just had to find a way to make it work.
chapter thirty-two
luna
Kriz
