Page 40 of Love On Time

“I’m really trying not to.”

“You leaving will kill her, Drew.” His voice cracks as he tries to catch his breath. “You should end things now before it's too late.”

“She means too much to me to do that.”

“That's exactly why you need to do it!” he snaps.

A long, suffocating silence stretches between us, heavy with years of friendship that are suddenly hanging by a thread.

“I can't,” I state firmly.

His eyes snap up to mine as shock takes over his expression. He takes a single step toward me. “Then it better be worth it. Because if you do break her heart, I swear to God, Drew, I will never speak to you again.”

He stares me down, hurt and betrayal written all over his face. Without another word, he turns around and walks straight out my front door, slamming it behind him.

My heart starts crashing violently against my ribs, a dull pain settling deep into my chest. I turn around to head back to the kitchen and freeze, catching sight of my mom standing in the doorway.

I let out a shaky sigh. “How much did you hear?”

“All of it,” she says softly, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes filled with a mix of concern and sympathy.

“I really care about her, Mom.”

“I know you do,” she says gently, walking over to squeeze my arm. “I see the way you look at her. Just… be careful, Drew.”

CHAPTER 14

Camille

DAY 5: PRACTICE & PASTA

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep. “Ugh!” I groan as I try to pry my eyes open from a deep sleep, my hands shooting up to my aching temples. My skull pounds in perfect tandem with the alarm. The memories of last night flood to the forefront of my mind. The karaoke, the dancing in the crowded club, Drew hovering over me in the dark, his breath on my skin, and then completely rejecting my kiss. Intense humiliation and an evil hangover hit me all at once, making me want to dissolve right into the mattress and disappear.

“Shit, shit, sorry!” Drew scrambles out from under his blankets, darting across the room to grab his phone off the desk.

I glance at the red flashing numbers on the clock on the bedside table. “Drew, it’s five in the morning,” I groan, rubbing slow, deep circles into my temples.

Despite the splitting headache, my eyes instinctively track his movements. I reach over to grab my glasses and see he's shirtless, the early morning shadows highlighting the broad lines of his back and shoulders. A sudden, unwanted heat pools in all the places it definitely shouldn't right now.

“I know, I’m sorry! That’s my reminder alarm,” he says quickly, tapping frantically on his screen to silence the ridiculously loud beeping echoing through the room. “My new article just went live on the blog.”

“I would love to say I'm happy for you, but my head is killing me right now!” I chuckle, falling back into my pillow.

I hear the mini-fridge door open, and I shield my eyes against the light. A moment later, Drew walks back over to the bed, holding out a cold water bottle and two Advil.

“Here, take these,” he says softly.

I sit up carefully, the room spinning for a fraction of a second, and take the pills from his hand. Our fingers brush, and a jolt of electricity zips up my arm. My body is messing with me this morning, always betraying me when it comes to him. I swallow the Advil and chase it with half the water bottle, using the action to avoid looking at him.

But Drew doesn't move away. He carefully sits on the edge of my mattress, his shirtless chest casting a strong shadow over me in the dawn light.

"Hey," Drew says, his voice rough with sleep. He rubs the back of his neck, looking down at me with a mixture of guilt and something weighted that I can't quite put my finger on. "About last night..."

“Drew,” I sigh, the word heavy with exhaustion. “I’m already humiliated enough. Just forget it happened, okay?”

“No, I’m not going to just forget about it,” he says quietly, his eyes searching mine. “We need to talk about what happened. And I don’t just mean last night.”

“Okay.” I sigh, “We will talk, but can we do it after I have coffee?”