Page 66 of Late Fees

“Why?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

A glazed look of despair crossed his face. “Why do you think?”

“Honestly, I—I don’t know. We haven’t seen each other in so long, and you’re telling me you’ll wait for me…forever. Do you realize how crazy that sounds?”

“When have I ever cared about that? I don’t care what anyone thinks or how I might sound. I’m being honest with you.”

“You know what I mean. It’s just so…so…”

“Crazy?”

“Yes, Wyatt. It’s crazy.”

“Not to me. You know how I feel about you, how I’ve always felt. How I still feel. That’s not going to change. Not ever, Tilly. And now that I’ve found you again, I can’t possibly let you slip through my fingers again.”

My breath caught at his audacity. He was straightforward and honest to a fault. He was everything that I didn’t want to be when I was around him. If I let Wyatt in again, he could destroy me completely.

And I just wasn’t ready for that.

“I didn’t slip through your fingers,” I said softly. “You slipped through mine.”

He closed his eyes tight and nodded. “I know.”

“It was good to catch up. Really, it was,” I said, scratching my forehead and avoiding his soulful gray eyes. “But this is all I can give you, Wyatt. A friendly cup of coffee and a polite goodbye.”

“So, that’s it?” he asked, pain flickering in his eyes. “This is goodbye?”

“You told me that you just wanted one cup of coffee. We’ve done that.”

“Tilly.”

The myriad of emotions that I was feeling just being in his presence again was suffocating and exhilarating all at the same time. I had to get out of that coffee shop. I had to get home to the sanctuary of my apartment.

I rose to my feet. “Like I said, it’s all I can give you. I need to head back to my apartment. I have an exam in the morning, and we all leave for spring break on Friday.”

“Can I walk you?”

“I think I’d rather be alone.”

“All right,” Wyatt said, standing up. “But I’m not giving up.”

A sardonic laugh left my lips. “I think you’ve made that abundantly clear.”

“Then it’s not goodbye, is it?” he asked with a tinge of cockiness, biting down on his lower lip, his eyes perking up.

I couldn’t stop the smile that crossed my face. But I looked away as quickly as I could so he couldn’t see how much he was affecting me. Frankly, I wanted to jump his bones right there in the coffee shop. I wanted to invite him back to my apartment and lose myself in him completely. I wanted so much more than I was willing to show him because Wyatt could break me. And I just couldn’t handle that again.

“Fine,” I said, putting my jacket on. “Then it’s see you later.”

A dimple formed on his left cheek as he grinned like a fool. “I can live with that.”

But somehow, I’m not sure that I can.

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