His gaze met mine. “No, it’s fine. We can meet by the band room before lunch.”
“All right. I’ll see you then.”
For the next few hours, I couldn’t concentrate. My mind reeled with bits of conversation I wanted to have with Trey. I thought about the best case scenarios, where he admitted he loved me too. Then I considered how he’d reject me. By the time fourth period ended, my stomach was tied up in knots. My pulse roared in my ears.
I stopped by my locker and dropped my books off.
“Hey,” he called when he saw me. “So what’s going on?”
“I’ve started this conversation in my head like a million times. And hopefully I don’t sound crazy,” I said. “The thing is—well, I, I … ” Oh God. Come on mind. Don’t fail me now.
His eyes widened and he stood there a second as if processing what I’d just said. Trey ran a hand through his hair, squeezed his eyes shut and let out a long breath.
“Please. Say something.” My insides coiled as the silence dragged on. I turned my gaze to the lace at the bottom of my cami and I gripped it between my fingers. This wasn’t going quite the way I’d planned.
“Why now? Why do you wait until now to have feelings?”
“It’s not like I chose to be inconvenient,” I said. “I didn’t realize it until after we started the Romeo Club.”
His eyes shot open and he gave a forced, cold laugh. “I have a girlfriend, Delyla.”
“I know. Trust me. I didn’t plan on this to happen. But that night you kissed me, I felt this spark. And it’s all I’ve been able to think about. If I’m being honest though, I started to notice things before then. Like how much we have in common. How you’re always there for me when I need you. The dorky grin you get when you beat a level on Dwarves of Iconia.” I twisted the edge of my sweater in my hand. “How your eyes light up when you’re talking about a math equation, or the excitement in your voice after acing a test. I-I don’t know why it took me so long to see you. But I see you now. And I want to know if you feel the same.”
He frowned. “Damn it, Del. You know how long I crushed on you? Years. I spent years, trying to get your attention. But you never noticed. Not once.”
My head shot up. “Wait. You have a crush on me?”
“
“But I didn’t know.”
“How could you not? I offered you rides to school every day before you got your license. I came to all your soccer games, whether Drake or your family went or not. God, I even bought you gifts for your birthday and flowers for Valentine’s Day. Guys don’t do that for girls they want to be just friends with.”
My mouth went dry. “But you never said anything. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried. You know how many times I tried to tell you? But you always had somewhere else you wanted to be or someone else you wanted to be around. So I gave up.”
“If I would’ve known … ”
“You would’ve done what? You had a boyfriend. And apparently I wasn’t what you wanted.”
“But I want you now.” My voice cracked. Tears welled in my eyes. “You’re all I’ve thought about. And I’ve tried to tell you that I liked you, but every time I started someone interrupted.”
“But you didn’t want me until I got a girlfriend. Until I wasn’t available anymore.” He paced the alcove. “I can’t believe that you’d do this to me. Put me on the spot like this. You choosing to do this right now is horrible. You asked to talk to me right in front of my girlfriend this morning. Knowing full well you’d be asking me to break up with her.”
My eyes snapped up and I glowered. “I’m being horrible? You’re the one who wanted me to teach you how to kiss when you were dating Portia. Not to mention, you’re the one who paid me to help you get a girlfriend. So if we want to have a discussion about morals, why don’t we start there?”
He fists clenched at his side as he moved closer to me. “I like Portia.”
