Page 122 of Touch Me

True Colors.

“Oh my god. They’re all—”

“Cyndi Lauper songs.”

Jace comes out of the shadows. I gasp and my heart leaps to my throat.

That’s not supposed to happen.

No leaping. Stupid heart.

I meet his eyes for a split second and take a step back, dropping my gaze to the floor. I struggle to swallow the lump in my throat and nervously push my hair behind my ears.

He clears his throat, tugging on his jacket. “Hey. Thought I might find you here.” When I don’t say anything, he takes a step toward me. “It’s the only place I knew for certain you wouldn’t be able to run away.” Another step closer.

Don’t back down. Don’t run away.

“So I waited. For a month. An agonizing month. Then I planned and propositioned your friends into helping me. Well, begged, really.”

Seeing him, in public, dressed to kill in a charcoal gray suit and his hair all messy but perfect in that Jace way, has my head spinning. “Why are you here?” He runs his hands through his hair and looks down at his shoes, the first sign of anxiety he’s shown. “To get me back?”

“To apologize. Mostly.” He smiles. When I don’t return the gesture, his smile fades and his eyes flinch. “I understand if you can’t accept it. What I did was unforgivable.”

“Well, let’s hear it.”

“Hear what?”

“Your apology.” I harden my features and cross my arms over my chest, a show of strength. It’s all an act. “You’ve had a month. Surely you came with a speech prepared.”

“I guess I sort of did, but my brain can’t seem to find any of the words when you’re standing so close.”

The urge to get out of here, away from him, before my chest cracks open and leaks all over the floor, has my feet moving before my brain catches up. “Well, if that’s all, I have work to do.”

“I miss your stir fry.”

I stop my retreat and spin around. “Stir fry? That’s what you’re going with?”

“Not just that. Obviously.” He rubs his hands down his face and takes a few steps towards me. “I miss you. All of you. Your smile, your laugh, your hair, that somehow seems to be everywhere. The way, no matter what day it is, I know your t-shirts will be filled with bad ‘80s hair and pink eye shadow.”

This time when he smiles my resolve cracks a little, and I smile back.

“I miss the trust you put in me. I miss being able to put my trust in you. You’re the only person that’s ever earned it, and I’m so fucking sorry for throwing that away. I should have listened to you that day. I should have remembered that I trusted you and let you explain.”

“I see your brain must be working again. Is this the speech?”

“Yeah, I’ve got more if you want to hear it.” The corner of his mouth turns up in a grin. “It’s all coming back to me.”

I gesture for him to continue. Mostly, so my brain can start firing on all cylinders and think of some retort. My heart seems to have taken over my body and locked my brain up in a dungeon with a ball gag. “Go on then.”

He takes another step until he’s right in front of me. “I miss your passion. The light in your eyes. Your patience. I miss the way you give everyone else the love you want in return, the love you deserve. And even when no one else reciprocates, you keep giving. I knew you would be the only one with enough compassion and understanding to help me with my issues. In the beginning, I made a vow to myself to let you help me but not to weigh down your life with my shit. But then I fell in love with you.” He reaches for my hand and threads our fingers together.

I stare at our entwined fingers, both a little shaky. “Well, that is a pretty good speech.” It comes out snarky, and he immediately drops my hand. It seems my brain broke out of its prison and wants a turn to talk. “It would probably work on most any girl.”

“But not you?”

“Jace, all that stuff you said to me...” I close my eyes and drop my chin. I can’t look at him and not hear those words right now. “I still hear it in my head.”

“It was all bullshit. It was the only way I knew to get you to leave.”

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