Tender (Book 1 - Complete)

Chapter 25 - Jamie

*Please forgive any mistakes... this has not been edited at all  :S

All day Penny's been acting strange, and though I can't put my finger on the exact reason, somehow I've been getting a strange vibe. The two of us had spent the whole day with Clarice and Dillon at the pool and it wasn't until we volunteered to run to the store for some snacks that I realized something was off.

It'd been subtle at first. She'd lean in a little too close to speak to me, or brush her fingers against mine to draw my attention to her, or laugh a little too forcefully at my awful attempts at a joke. Sure, I thought it was strange at the time, but I didn't really notice it until we left the pool and were finally alone. Suddenly everything shifted. The distance between us grew, the silence between us thickened, and the smiles disappeared.

None of these observations settled well in my gut. All this time I'd been working to paint Penny in a better light. I'd strived to see the good in her. I blinded myself to the possibilities of her being a manipulative backstabber. But today I couldn't deny it any longer. Penny was using me. I could feel it. She was only pursuing me so she could mark me as a conquest. Her flirty show in front of our friends only solidified the truth about her. She didn't care who she wounded as long as she came out on top.

As we walked through the grocery store, I couldn't help the burning disgust at the back of my throat. She'd known how I'd felt about her—he'd known how Clarice felt about me—and still, she'd pushed her way into my life because she knew I'd let her. She knew that in my emotional state, I wouldn't be able to reject her.

Rubbing my hand over my thigh, I let my fingers graze the lifeless, cold contraption that now imitates my lower leg. Was I a charity case to her? She'd pursued me out of pity because she'd known that I liked her? Or did she view me as something new and fresh? The troubled one-legged guy in need of affection?

The more I dwell on everything I've noticed today, the angrier I become. How could I have been so stupid? I flaunted Penny around in front of Clarice—the kindest, most compassionate girl I've ever known—and pushed Lynn away even though she'd done nothing but offer me support in the form of blatant honesty. The kind of honesty I needed. It's just too bad I was too stubborn to heed anything she said.

I see it now, though. Clarice and Lynn were right. Penny isn't the girl I'd hoped she was. She's not the girl she'd pretended to be. All our years of friendship and I'd never seen the truth.

"What are you so deep in thought about over there?" Penny suddenly asks, breaking me away from my bitter thoughts.

When I see the worry flash across her face, I know I've done a lousy job of concealing my disgust. Her chin jolts back, her brows dipping in concern as she takes in my expression. Softening my gaze, I offer her a poor attempt of a smile and then shrug before turning my attention back toward the road.

We're about ten minutes away from the pool but this weight on my chest is begging to be acknowledged. I refuse to be used any longer. It's time to man up. I need to stop making decisions based off my emotions and start using my head.

Offering Penny a quick glance, I rub a thumb along my jaw before answering. "What is this?" I ask, using my finger to motion between the two of us. "What are we?"

"Uh..." Her eyes widen marginally as she flounders for a response. "I don't know." Pause. "What do you want us to be?"

"Do you like me?" I ask, bulldozing over her question with one of my own. "I mean, really like me?"

"Um—"

"See," I laugh as I shake my head in regret, my brows lifted in bafflement, "you don't even know how to answer that question, which is an answer in and of itself."