Out of Breath (Breathing, #3)(77)

‘No.’ Evan shook his head. ‘I don’t want to do that any more.’ I opened my mouth, not expecting his response. ‘I don’t hate you, Emma, and I don’t want to. And I’m not going to force you to tell me things that you don’t want to tell me. Of course I want to know why you left, and what kept you away. But only if you want to tell me.’

‘Okay,’ I whispered, my chest tightening with his concession.

‘I’ll see you later,’ Evan said, and began climbing the stairs.

I nodded, then walked back towards Cole’s. My feet suddenly felt very heavy. I should’ve been relieved that he wasn’t going to force me to open up any more. But I wasn’t. I didn’t understand it. It almost felt like he was … done. I hadn’t expected him to give up so easily. But that’s what he’d wanted from the beginning – closure. I drew in a quick breath, my heart twisting at the thought of it. I should’ve been prepared for this. But I wasn’t.

‘How was your run?’ Nate asked, sipping a cup of coffee at the kitchen counter.

‘Pretty good,’ I answered, the corner of my lip creeping up.

‘What’s that look for?’ he demanded, knowing me too well. ‘Let me guess. You didn’t run by yourself?’

‘No.’ I laughed lightly. ‘I ran with Emma, and it was … good.’ My mouth released the smile it was trying to hide. ‘She’s amazing out there when she runs. I don’t know how to describe it.’ I got lost in the image of her lean, strong legs propelling her forward, as if she could run forever. It was the only time she ever appeared to be at peace. I pulled my shoulders back in surprise when someone patted me on the back.

‘Good morning,’ Brent said brightly. Brent was always way too awake, no matter what time it was. ‘What are we doing today?’

‘Uh, getting ready for a party,’ Nate told him like he was an idiot. ‘The inventory in the closet downstairs is low. We need to go shopping. And I have no idea where the tiki torches went, so we may have to pick up new ones.’

‘What’s the theme?’ Brent asked, pouring coffee into a mug.

‘Summer,’ Nate replied simply. ‘That’s a good enough theme for me. But we’re starting early, so it’ll be a pool party.’

‘So the ladies will come sit by the pool wearing their bikinis,’ Brent stated, nodding while wearing an obnoxious smile. ‘Genius.’

‘That’s all you think about,’ I said, grabbing a sports drink out of the refrigerator.

‘Yeah, it is.’ He looked at me like I was crazy. ‘You wait until you see the girls show up wearing practically nothing, and tell me you’re not thinking about it too.’

Nate glanced at me and smirked. ‘He won’t be thinking about it.’

I glared at him. ‘Shut up, Nate.’

‘What’s going on?’ Brent asked.

‘Emma’s here,’ Nate said, making Brent choke on his coffee.

‘If you’re not going to stop sulking, then I’m leaving you here,’ Sara scolded while curling my hair.

‘I’m not sulking. And I want to go.’ Oddly enough, I did. I twisted my fingers nervously in my lap, anxious about seeing the guys … about seeing Evan again.

‘Something happened, and you’re not telling me. I know –’

‘The two weeks are over,’ I blurted, watching her reaction in the mirror, hating the fact that I was so transparent to her.

‘Uh, no they’re not,’ Sara responded in confusion. ‘You have like ten days left.’

‘He said he didn’t want to do it any more,’ I replied quietly. ‘So … it’s over.’

Sara stood still, the curling iron in her hand, examining me in the mirror. ‘And why does that make you so upset? I would figure you’d be relieved not to have to confess everything you should have told him the first time around.’

I made a face and opened my mouth to deny that it bothered me, but I knew she wouldn’t believe me. I connected with her blue eyes in the mirror and shrugged. And that’s all she needed. She smiled consolingly. ‘It’s not over, Emma.’

‘Hey,’ Cole hollered from the living room, causing us both to jump. ‘What time are we heading over there?’

‘Uh, we’ll be out in a few minutes,’ I yelled back, flashing my eyes guiltily at Sara.

‘You’re not dating,’ she stated.

‘Sara!’

‘What? They’re your words,’ she said innocently.

I sighed. This was about to get even more complicated. ‘You officially look gorgeous,’ Sara announced, admiring me through the mirror. ‘Now let’s go and have a ridiculously good time. We haven’t laughed nearly enough this summer.’

I smiled, inspecting her work. ‘Thank you, Sara.’ I turned towards her on the stool we’d taken from the kitchen. ‘For everything.’

Sara smiled back. I jumped down and slid on a pair of wedged sandals. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Evan, can you grab me more Coronas?’ Nate hollered from across the pool. I nodded and excused myself through the bare shoulders and surf shorts towards the downstairs entrance. The crowd parted for me again when I returned a few minutes later with a couple of cases stacked in my arms.