Page 125 of The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles
Gaining enough courage to look at him, I glanced up catching a glimpse of those heart-melting, kind and caring eyes.
Damn it, I felt too broken for this.
“What?”
He ripped every last part of my heart out with each scan of those beautiful eyes of his.
“Why did you come to my room?”
To tell you I love you, to tell you I’m in love with you, that I want you more than anything.That I’ve dreamt of being held in your arms ever since I met you.
Even though those words were on the tip of my tongue, I couldn’t say them. There was absolutely no point, and I couldn’t face the rejection. Clearly he’d moved on, was with someone else,andwasescalatingtheirrelationship to the next level.
“Um, I saw the boxes and thought I should let you know the shirt I borrowed will be clean tomorrow for you to pack.”
Damn, shit . . . fuck.
The sullen look on his face suggested that wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but honestly, what was I supposed to say to him at this point? I had no other options. I wasn’t one to break up a relationship, and by the looks of Tasha’s expression, they were happy.
“That’s all?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yeah.”
He nodded his head as he looked away and ran his hand through his hair. I could see the frustration pouring off him, but I didn’t know what he wanted from me, what he wanted me to say.
“Are you going out with him?” Henry asked, sounding angrier by the minute.
“Who?”
“Atticus. Don’t play dumb with me, Rosie.”
I stepped back from his verbal attack. I didn’t like this side of Henry at all. It scared me.
“That’s none of your business.”
“I thought we were friends,” he said with a snide tone.
“Yeah, so did I until you started acting like a complete ass,” I shot back.
“I’m the ass? You’re the one talking to another guy the minute I remove my dick from you.”
Fury lashed through me as I explained. “I didn’t speak to him. I checked my voicemail. I didn’t say I’d go out with him. I haven’t even called him back because in my head, I thought maybe there was something between us, but clearly I was wrong. Every word out of your mouth on Sunday was a lie. Every touch. Every freaking kiss. You only wanted my virginity.”
“You know what, fuck you, Rosie. Fuck you.”
Tears fell down my face from his harshness. In all the years I’d known Henry, not once had he ever said that to me. His words hit me directly in the chest where it was now hollow.
Through sobbing tears, I faintly heard Tasha say something to Henry and him tell her to go back in the room.His room. Where she’d sleep tonight.
I shook my head and wiped my tears. Straining for bravado, I lifted my chin and looked Henry in the eyes.
My voice was weak but I still tried to speak with passion.
“I’m sorry things had to end like this, Henry. Honestly, I wish this never happened, that we never were intimate, because what really suffers from this is our friendship, the one thing I’d valued most in this world. It makes me ill to think of us as no longer friends, that I won’t be able to rely on you when I need you the most, but I guess that was all part of the gambleItook, of trying to make something intimate work between us. I knew the consequences and still tried anyway. It’s not me you want at all. It never was. My mistake. Lesson learned.”
I turned and started walking toward my room when Henry called out my name, making me stop.
“Rosie, please, let’s talk about this.”Why the hell won’t he leave me alone? He’s made his choice.
