Page 52 of Searching for Nova

Easton takes a step closer. “Nova, don’t lie to me. Just tell me the truth. Why are you avoiding me? Why wouldn’t you return any of my calls? Was it something I did? Or said?”

“No.” I shake my head, keeping it down so I don’t have to see his face. “I already explained this to you. It isn’t a good idea. You and I, being friends again.”

His hand goes under my chin and he slowly lifts my face to his. “Tell me why. Why can’t we be friends?”

Fuck. I’m tearing up. Why is that happening? I never cry. Even during sad movies I don’t tear up, so why is it happening now? I blink a few times, pretending I have something in my eye.

“I’m not asking for hours of your time,” he says. “I’ll take whatever you give me. I just want to see you again.”

“I can’t. Sean, I—” I pause. “I keep doing that. I’m not used to calling you Easton.” I glance at the clock. “You should get out there. You don’t want to be late.”

He lets go of me and takes a step back. “When do you work at the diner again?”

“Tomorrow. Why?”

“Let me take you home. We can stop somewhere on the way, maybe get dinner.”

I’m fighting with myself inside my head, wanting to accept his offer, but also wanting to turn it down.

“Or we could forget dinner,” he says. “And I could just take you home so you don’t have to ride the bus.”

Don’t do it. Don’t agree to it. It’ll only make it harder when he leaves. And you know he’ll leave. Everyone leaves.

It’s true, and I know I should listen to the warnings going off in my head, but instead I say, “Okay.”

“Really?” he says, sounding shocked. “Are you agreeing to dinner or just a ride?”

“I could do dinner, but we have to be back before six. I need time to make dinner for Ted. He eats at six.”

“What if we brought him home dinner? Then you wouldn’t have to make it and we could be out longer.”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I need to get back to work.” I walk back to my cleaning cart. “Isn’t your girlfriend—” I forgot whatever I was about to say the moment I turned back and saw Easton. He’s standing by the lockers with his shirt off, and holy shit. His chest. His abs. His arms. Everywhere I look is muscle, outlined like those diagrams in health class. The ab muscles, the pecs, that line going down each side of his hips.

“Nova?”

I hear his voice and force my gaze back to his face. “What?”

He smiles a little. “You were asking me something.”

“Oh. Yeah. Your girlfriend. Won’t she be mad if you’re taking me to dinner?”

“We broke up.”

“But you’ll probably get back together. I’m guessing you just had a fight?”

“We did, but we’re not getting back together.”

My gaze keeps wandering back to his chest. I’ve never seen a guy with muscles like that. I can’t believe he looks like that after being such a scrawny kid.

He takes a shirt from his duffle bag and puts it on, then shoves the duffle bag in one of the lockers. “You should go out there and meet Gordy.”

“I already did. I didn’t know who he was.”

Easton laughs. “Seriously?”

“Why is everyone so shocked by that? Not everyone’s a hockey fan.”

“Yeah, but people still know him. He’s a legend around here. And it’s Wisconsin. People here are into hockey.”

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