Damaged But Not Broken (New Adult Rockers) by W.H. Vega Page B

night?”
    This makes Blake grin a bit.
    “I know, I know. But I had to see
you. I left my car at the bottom of the driveway and then jogged all the way up
here. I think I avoided a lot of the security cameras.”
    He’s insane.
    He starts pacing my room and then
looks over at me, his eyes filled with pain and confusion.
    “I’m so sorry about earlier.”
    “Which part?” I ask, my voice
harder than I intended.
    Blake winces.
    Really, that wasn’t fair on my
part. I was the one that admitted to having feelings; Blake had just hinted at
an attraction.
    “Sorry. I was the one that admitted
my feelings for you,” I say, looking down at my hands.
    “I’m sorry about Savannah,” he says
quickly, “She was out of line. And she gets very jealous. She knows that you
and I dated when we were younger.”
    I realize that I can be honest here
or I can just smooth things over. I opt for honesty because I have nothing to
lose.
    “I just don’t get it Blake. I know
that I don’t know her at all, but I just can’t picture the two of you-’’ I
trail off because I can’t bring myself to finish the sentence.
    “I know we don’t seem like the
perfect pair,” he admits, “but I do love her, and we somehow make it work.”
    What was I expecting him to say? You’re
right, Paige. She’s not for me. I want you instead.
    I’m a fool, standing in my bedroom
half-dressed with my high school sweetheart who I still have feelings for.
    “You need to go, Blake.”
    “I just got here.” He says quickly,
his voice desperate.
    “I know,” I say with frustration,
“and I’m not sure why you’re here!”
    “I came to apologize. Apologize for
Savannah’s behavior and to try to explain what I see in her.”
    “You don’t owe me any explanations,
and honestly, I really don’t care what you see in her.” I don’t want to sit
through any explanations of Blake’s love for his fiancé.
    “But I don’t want to end things
like this, Paige.”
    “End what?” I yell. “We never
started anything!”
    “Dammit! I’m doing this all wrong!”
Blake pounds his fist against the wall. “I still want to try to be your friend,
Paige. I know it’s going to be hard because I still have this attraction to
you.”
    I feel tears well up in my eyes but
I vow that I am not going to cry. Blake isn’t trying to make this painful, but
it’s becoming harder by the second.
    “Blake, do you realize how hard you
are making this for me?” I pause and wait for him to answer. I see confusion and
embarrassment cross his face.
    “God, Paige, I’m so sorry,” he
stumbles, “I had no idea – I wasn’t thinking. I’m being a selfish prick.”
    I shake my head, wiping at my
tears. “This is just all too much for me and too fast. Bottom line is you are
engaged to be married. And even if you weren’t, I’m too screwed up for all of
this anyway. I shouldn’t have told you that I still had feelings for you. Of
course, I always felt something for you over the years, constantly wondered
'what if?', but I didn’t realize how real those feelings were or how deep they
ran until I was actually around you again.”
    Blake sinks down onto my bed, and I
feel an illicit thrill of seeing him there, and that makes things even worse.
    “I wish we could be friends,” I
continue, “But I can tell your fiancé doesn’t like it, and given our history
and current feelings, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
    “But we’re both singing for your
dad,” Blake interjects, as if that matters.
    I nod. “I know. So let’s be
courteous to one another. There is no reason for us to be enemies.”
    Blake nods again and I gingerly sit
next to him on the bed. He’s so close that I can smell him, and my bare thigh
nearly brushes against his jeans. My pulse is racing, and my heart is hammering
wildly against my rib cage.
    Blake turns to look at me, and for
an instant I think he’s going to kiss me. Our faces are inches apart, and I can
feel his warm breath on