Page 151 of Hooking Up
"Yeah."
"Makes you think. You know, all that stuff about the ocean going on forever? How it never changes?"
"The ocean always wins."
"Yeah." She gnaws on her bottom lip.
It's like last night.
She's thinking something.
Hurting over something.
"You okay?" I ask.
"Maybe."
"Is that your go-to response?"
"No." Slowly, she meets my gaze. Her expression gets soft. Vulnerable. "I should tell you something."
"I know you're freaked about sharks."
"No. Well, I am. But that's not it." She takes a deep breath. "It's about… about the past, I guess."
"Is it important?"
"Yeah."
Fuck, she looks terrified.
I want to be someone Iris can lean on. I want her to be comfortable telling me anything.
But is now really the time?
She went from joyous to miserable likethat.
Last night was heavy. We need something light. Fun. Easy.
"Will telling me make you feel better?" I ask.
Her brow furrows as she turns over the question. "No, it won't. But this is… you deserve to know."
"That doesn't matter."
"Walker, you—"
"No. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter."
"This will matter to you."
"It won't."
"It will."
My voice gets sure. "No. It won't. The past is the past." I slide my arms around her waist. Pull her closer. "Tell me if you want. That's your call. But if it's something that happened before we met, I don't need to know."
She looks up at me. "But you have no idea what it is."
