Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(41)

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“Then, yes, I’m glad.”

His face fell. “You don’t care about me anymore.”

Not in the way he wanted her to. Hadn’t she said that—many times? “I’d like to be friends—when you’re ready,” she reiterated.

Dropping his head, he rubbed his temples. “You’re making a mistake, Cora. We are meant to be together.”

She let her breath go in a sigh. “I can’t change how I feel.”

He folded his arms as he studied her. “Fine. Then...can I just ask for one last favor?”

“Of course.”

“Let me stay here a few days? I need some time away from LA—to get my head around this and come to terms with my mother’s diagnosis.”

“I don’t see how that will help.”

“I’m telling you I can’t go back. Not yet. You say you care about me. Let me hang out for a while, talk things through.”

She didn’t want him to stay. As far as she was concerned, he couldn’t hit the highway fast enough. But she did feel terrible about his mother’s diagnosis. And she thought having Matt around might finally stop her from seeing Eli. So there was that, too. If Matt got his way, at least in that regard, maybe he’d believe she really did wish him well and would leave peaceably, without saying anything that would give her away to Aiyana or anyone else.

“I have only this one bed,” she said. “You’ll have to sleep on the couch. You realize that. I won’t get physical with you. There’s not even a remote chance.”

“Fine. I understand. I’m happy just to be able to spend some time with you to sort of...grow accustomed to our new roles. I mean...if you’re sincere about being friends.”

“Of course I’m sincere!”

“What happened before was too abrupt.”

“I got that. You can stay until Friday,” she said. “But I doubt you’ll really care to hang out that long. I’ll be at work most of the time, and you’ll be sitting around here alone, bored stiff.”

“At least we can spend our evenings together. Let me stay until Saturday, though, okay? My aunt’s in town to visit my mom, and I don’t really want to see her. You know we butt heads. Being out of town gives me a good excuse to avoid another argument with the old curmudgeon.”

“So long as it’s Saturday morning,” she said. And she hoped it would be early, before the day could really begin, so she’d have the rest of the weekend to herself. She was already looking forward to that.

“Okay,” he said.

She forced herself to return his smile. She supposed, after two years together, she could give him that much. What was three or four days?

*

“What’s wrong?”

Eli blinked and then focused on his brother Gavin. They were sitting at the bar on Friday, listening to the music and watching the people who were dancing—had gone out at his request because he’d needed the distraction. The football team had a bye this week, so he didn’t even have that to think about this weekend. “Nothing, why?”

“You’re not the same tonight.”

He took a sip of his beer. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re preoccupied, quiet.”

Because he couldn’t help remembering what’d happened here the last time. “I’m tired.”

The waitress stopped to gather Gavin’s empty bottle and to see if she could get him another beer. “No, thanks,” he told her. “So how’s Cora?” he asked as she walked off. “Everything going okay with her?”

It wasn’t going at all. Eli hadn’t heard from her since he delivered her lunch on Tuesday. He’d looked for her in the cafeteria and on campus since, but if he happened to find her and catch her eye, she’d look away and leave the area soon after.

He kept telling himself he didn’t care. That she’d decided to quit seeing him, which saved him from having to break things off later. Every romantic relationship he had came down to that eventually...

But this was different. She’d quit on him long before he was ready to let her go. The thought of her in that small house with her ex-boyfriend made him sick inside. He kept going over and over their time together, remembering the way she’d smile when he came toward her, the way she’d laugh if he said something funny, the way she made love without coming off so needy that she wound up making him feel cornered and desperate to get away.

And then he’d wonder what more he could’ve done to make her want to continue seeing him. “I guess. She’s been busy.”

“Meaning...what? You haven’t seen her?”

He gripped his bottle that much tighter as a vision of her pressed up against the back of this very building filled his head. “Not recently.”

“But you guys were so hot for each other when we were here last. I had to dance with Darci half a dozen songs in a row to keep her occupied.”

Eli mustered a faint smile for Gavin’s sacrifice, hoping that would finally put an end to the conversation. But Gavin went right back after it.

“Does that mean it’s over?”

“Do we have to talk about this?” he finally snapped.