“Yep,” I replied, not wanting to get into it. “I had a run-in with Chelsea and I really can’t wait to get out of here. Literally everyone is here tonight.” I shuddered. Just as Hunter had said they would be.
“You okay?” he asked, genuinely concerned, knowing my history with Chelsea more than anyone else.
“Yeah, I’m actually a lot better, like I’ve gotten closure I guess. I’m just completely exhausted now,” I relayed.
“Well, do you need a ride home? I was going to leave myself,” He offered, his eyes full of warmth and security. I hesitated and he watched me debate my internal conflict. “Seriously, it’s no problem. I’d really feel better if I drove you home,” he assured. I nodded slowly.
“Yes, that would be great. Thanks,” I agreed and followed him to his car. It was just a ride, an innocent ride home. That was all, I kept telling myself.
Axel
I DROVE THE LONG WAY to Leah’s apartment, doing anything I could to make the drive last longer and get just a little more time with her. I’d missed her so much during our time apart and just being with her made me feel so much better. Neither one of us spoke much and we drove mostly in silence, but it wasn’t awkward at all, it was a comfortable silence. Something I only had with Leah.
“So, what have you been up to since I left?” I asked, dying to know. She shrugged her shoulders.
“Honestly, not much. I’ve just been focusing on school,” she answered sounding bored. “My grades have actually never been better.” She laughed. “But what about you, what have you been up to?” she asked, sounding a little nervous.
“My life has been exceptionally boring,” I told her, being honest as well. “I’ve just been keeping myself busy with work.” And oh boy, had I. I’d raked in a load of cash in the month we had been apart. I took all the extra shifts I could get, so I wouldn’t have to think about how crushed I’d been.
“I’m surprised you managed to get the night off,” she stated. “It must be a busy night for the bar.”
“Yeah it is, but I pulled a few strings,” I told her. “I was hoping you’d be here and that we could work things out,” I admitted to her, watching her face closely to see her reaction. Her warm chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise and her cheeks flushed pink at my admission. I could tell that there were real feelings there, hidden underneath the surface and I wished, that now that she knew the truth and understood how I felt about her, that she’d give into these feelings. But Leah was loyal and I knew she would never cheat, it was one of the things I loved the most about her. I could trust her wholeheartedly. It was the only thing that made the situation more bearable.
“I know you’re seeing Hunter now,” I said slowly, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t try being friends,” I said, trying hard not to bite my tongue when I said the word friends. The pain was like a knife to my gut. What was I, crazy? Friends would be unbearable. She remained silent in deep contemplation. “What do you think?” I questioned, the nervous one now.
“I don’t know Axel,” she said softly, really thinking about it. “That might be really hard,” she admitted much quieter. Who was I kidding, she was right, it had been a dumb thing to even offer. I was being a masochist, I was trying so hard to hold on to her and not lose her completely.
“You’re right, I was being stupid,” I agreed and sighed deeply as I pulled up to her building. We both sat in silence just staring up at her building.
“Thank you, Axel,” she said and undid her seatbelt. Leah put her hand on the door as if to leave but then paused and looked up at me. I felt my heart beat speed up and I held my breath as Leah leaned toward me. I turned my face towards her to meet her lips. She inhaled surprised and I realized that she had probably intended on kissing me on the cheek but instead I had kissed her. I kissed her once more and she surprisingly kissed me back, the electricity from the kiss coursed through my body and then all too soon she pulled back, breaking the kiss. Her face was rosy and her breathing labored, clearly she was just as affected as I was.
“Bye Axel,” she said and opened the door, fleeing to her apartment. Even though she was still leaving me, I was surprisingly okay. All the passion and fire had rekindled from our kiss and I could tell she felt it too. Maybe there was still hope for us. This wasn’t over.
I’D KISSED AXEL! I MEAN it hadn’t been my intention but I had done it! I was freaking out, tonight had been the most messed up night of my life. I thought I would have been coming back home with Hunter tonight and sharing our first night together. Instead, I’d left Hunter at the bar and had Axel bring me home, only to be kissing him at the end of the night. I had never seen this coming. But somehow even after everything awful that had happened with Chris, Ashley, Chelsea, and even Hunter, I was okay, happy even. And it was all thanks to Axel. Axel had wanted me all along and he still did. I found myself smiling to myself as I lay in bed, replaying the kiss we shared, over and over again in my head. My only problem was, what to do now? I could be with Axel but I had to end things with Hunter first.
All morning I tried to figure out how to end things with Hunter. He had already sent me four text messages,
