“Yes! Embarrassing, okay! Just being next to you is embarrassing. I’m so damn worried about doing something wrong that I can’t even breathe, let alone teach a class! Whatever I did, I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I was spying on you but the music was…” I choked. “Beautiful. It was beautiful, and I’m sorry for opening the window. I didn’t know! I just wanted her to smile more and—”
With shaking hands I covered my face and tried to level my breathing.
“Freaking hell,” he said under his breath. “Are those tears because of me?”
Was he that dense? Seriously?
I didn’t have the strength to lie — but saying yes just deepened the embarrassment.
“Saylor, I—” He cursed.
And then Gabe did something incredible.
He pulled me into his arms and hugged me.
And I cried into his chest.
I cried in the arms of my tormentor.
I cried like he was my savior.
When he was the cause of it all.
After a few minutes, he released me, and used his thumbs to wipe the tears from underneath my eyes. “Take your time, I started the movie.”
No apology.
No words of encouragement.
He just… left.
Leaving me more confused than before — but less broken.
Chapter Twenty-One
Did I mention I hate tears? Hold heart, insert arrow… blood, blood, lots of freaking blood. —Gabe H.
Gabe
And the asshole of the year award goes to… ding ding ding! We have a winner.
I was caught between wanting to comfort her and wanting to tell her to suck in her damn tears. There were bigger things in the world going on than her own insecurities.
But a part of me — you know the human part of my heart that was still beating, though just barely — clenched at the thought that I’d made her cry over my rash actions and words.
It wasn’t that I didn’t feel bad or that I didn’t want to apologize.
But I was so sick of lying that the only option would be to tell her the truth, and telling her the truth — although it would take a hell of a lot off my chest — would just make things worse.
So I hugged her.
Only that had been an even worse idea, because my entire body had jolted at our touch.
The girl was gorgeous. Her honey brown hair had actually smelled like honey, and her bright blue eyes were even prettier when she was crying.
Hell.
I groaned into my hands.