Pretend // Brandon Arreaga

00- Pretend

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The summer breeze brushed her skin causing her to involuntary shiver. Goosebumps raised on her skin under his touch as he draped a blanket over her shoulders. She smiled and moved closer to him, laying her head on his chest. He put an arm around her and intertwined their fingers. He leaned back on the roof and pulled her down with him.

"Look up at the moon." He whispered. She listened to him and looked at the moon. She didn't know the moon could look so different from the roof of a house.

"It's beautiful." She mumbled, breathlessly. She was in awe of her surroundings, including him. The moonlight only accentuated his facial features she loved so much.

"Yeah, like something else." He replied.

She busted out laughing. He joined in with the laugh when she started shaking. That was her thing though that he loved, her whole body shook when she laughed. "Stop being so corny! I see Nick is teaching you well."

"I'm not being corny! I really do think your beautiful in the moonlight." He retorted, looking at her.

She shook her head pecked his hand she was holding. "I'm gonna miss you, B."

He was hoping she would magically decide to stay, but he knew she couldn't. He didn't want to have to say goodbye to her. He enjoyed her company, as well did the other guys.

"Do you really have to go? You can't stay a few more days?" He asked, sitting back up straight. It didn't seem like a conversation to have while laying down on a roof.

"Yes, I have school and work." She chuckled. She was flattered that he wasn't ready to ship her back home just yet.

"Well come back next weekend. I'll pay." He suggested.

Caroline sighed and sat up. She'd be the first to admit this weekend had been the absolute best time of her life, but she had a life back in Phoenix. She couldn't just drop all of that for a guy, even if it was Brandon.

"When are we going to stop pretending that we could actually be together?" She asked finally. She hated for them arguing to be the last thing she did before leaving in the morning, but neither of them deserved to string each other along.

"We aren't pretending, Care. We can actually make this work, you just have to have faith." He said, looking at her. He could see she visibly upset and he hated to see her that way.

"Brandon, you just started your career and you have so far to go. I still have 2 years of school before I could even more here, if I found a job here. Let's not forget I live almost 400 miles away from you." She explained. She was crying and she really had no idea why she was. She knew they'd have to have this conversation sooner or later and she left in the morning.

"I don't care how far away you live, I just want you to give us a chance. If it doesn't work we'll part ways like it never happened." Brandon replied.

"It won't work and you know it. Think about how your last relationship went." She retorted. She huffed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Can we not do this, B? I want our last memory to be this and not some fight we have because of distance and our schedules."

Brandon sighed and held her closer to him. He could still hear her sniffling from crying. "Care, I'm just asking for you to give us a chance at a relationship. You can't pretend that this weekend wasn't one of the best."

He was right, it was the best. He made her feel more loved than anyone had ever made her feel. She even got along great with his friends and didn't find herself dreading having to face them everyday. She might would actually miss Edwin more than Brandon because she had grown so close to him. She wanted to pretend they had a chance at actually making it long distance for 2 years, but she knew it wasn't possible.

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