Page 30 of About to Fall

Micah tilted his head at me and gave me a wry smile. "Claire, you know I love you."

"Like a sister."

"Sure."

"What then?"

"I wish I just loved you like a sister."

"Why do you wish that?"

"Because then I could be happy with someone else."

A jolt of some kind of liquid happened in my body. "Maybe I don’t want you to be happy with someone else," I said, reacting and feeling jealous.

He grinned and shook his head. "I don't know what got into you today, but you're being funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny," I said shaking my head a little and not cracking a smile.

"What are you trying to do then?"

"I, I don't know exactly. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm being sincere, though, Micah. I’m not trying to be funny, I'll tell you that."

"I think you had a long night with your boyfriend last night, and you just need someone who—" He reached out like he was going to give me a comforting hug as he spoke, but I pulled back.

"I'm not," I said, cutting him off, and pulling back so I could focus on him. "I don't need someone to do whatever you were about to say. I'm not sad about Jake or breaking up with him or anything that happened."

"What are you saying then?"

"I don't know, Micah. I don’t know what I'm saying."

My mom called for me from across the way and I put up my finger to let her know I was busy and I'd come when I could. I had to just spit it out. Micah would be leaving soon and I needed to get this whole thing straight.

"Do you like me, Micah? For more than a friend?"

He grinned as he looked me over. He was so confident and sure of himself, and I felt like a nervous wreck.

"I only ever liked you as more than a friend, Claire. I'm only your friend because that's what you need me to be. And the small fact that I'm about fifty levels under you and don't deserve you at all."

"Micah, you are a huge star. You can have any woman you want. I saw you in a photo with Taylor Swift. If anything, I'm fifty levels under you, whatever that means."

"Claire."

"What?"

"What got into you? You don't see me like this."

"How do you know what I see you like?"

"Because you've said it about a million times over the years. My friend, Micah. My best friend, Micah."

"Well, you are," I said.

"Exactly. So there's no need to pretend to—"

"I'm not pretending," I said. "And it's not about Jake or what he did to me last night. I'm not sad. I'm not saying these things because of that. I just—just one second, Mom! I'll be right there." I looked at Micah regretfully. "They want to take a picture. She wants both of us over there. I think they're waiting on us."

We stiffly started walking across the sprawling room. We moved slowly in spite of the fact that people were waiting on us.

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