His to Steal

Ch. 10: Confess

Sutton

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Jason asks as he drives me back home after our silent, strained dinner.

The entire night after my unexpected, slightly traumatizing run-in with my past, I tried to act like nothing was wrong, but I guess I'm losing my touch where acting is concerned, because Jason saw right through me.

No matter how many times he tried to make me laugh or start conversation, I shut him down at every turn. Not unkindly, but still. I wasn't in the mood.

"No, because there's nothing to tell. Everything is fine," I say, not taking my eyes off the street outside the passenger side window.

He huffs and says, "Okay, fine. Lie to me all you want, but you'll crack eventually." He sighs. "I just wanted tonight to make you feel better...not worse."

I can feel him looking at me, so I let my head fall back on the headrest and turn to face him. "Jason...I'm sorry. The food was great, and I really appreciate you taking me out. I'm sorry that I—" I stop and weigh what I want to say next.

"What? What is it? Whatever it is, you can trust me."

Not with this, an unwanted voice chimes in the back of my mind.

"Look, Jay, it's a girl thing that I'd really rather not—"

Jason cocks his head to the side. "Really? You're going to use the old 'girl problems' excuse on me? I taught you how to use that on your dad."

"No, I'm serious. When I went to the bathroom, I had an, um, development I wasn't prepared for, and it threw me off. Now my hormones are all wacky and I'm just in a mood. That's all, I promise," I say.

It's not a complete lie. Seeing Nicolai was a development I wasn't prepared for, it did throw me off, and my hormones are all wacky. But that's because my ex-best friend is just as gorgeous as I remember—even more so if I'm honest—and even though he is a total dick, I still wanted more than anything for him to take me into his arms, kiss me, and tell me he wished he'd never left.

He steals a couple glances at me then finally, he says, "All right. I'll let it go. But if you need to talk about anything, I—"

"I know. You're here." I reach over and put my hand over his on the gear shift. "You've always been here. And I appreciate it. Okay?"

He flips his hand over, intertwines his fingers with mine and squeezes, my heart doing a weird flip in my chest. I start to pull them away, but he tightens his grip.

We ride along in somewhat comfortable silence for a bit when Jason speaks up. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yeah? What's up?"

He releases my hand and scrubs it down his face. "I wanted to apologize for—"

"Oh my God, Jason. Stop apologizing for my dad. It—"

"Sutton, please," he says, and his voice sounds strained. "Let me finish. It's not about that."

My eyes widen. "Oh, sorry, go ahead."

"I want to apologize for what happened in your room the other day. When we fell asleep, and I ended up too close to you. If I made you uncomfortable, I—"

"It's okay, Jay. You don't have to apologize for anything. It was fine."

Was it, though? Was it fine? He's not wrong; you did feel a little uncomfortable. It was weird.