The Truth About Friendships

10. My Partner And I

I'm not sure why I'm nervous, but Ren will be visiting my dorm today. It's only for the project, but I've refused to be alone with him since that night.

What if I'm tempted again, like before? He's not making things easy for me either.

We'll be together for the entire day. Shopping for supplies. I'm sure he's having a good time. Me, on the other hand. This is torture. Absolute torture.

We decided to go to the nearest art store, and because it was his idea, he insisted on purchasing the items. There's no reason for me to be with him right now, but he wouldn't go unless I accompanied him. God, he's like a kid. However, since I'm here, now would be a good time to ask him about the thoughts that have been trying to invade my mind recently. I know that I said that we would put it behind us, but him saying that he wanted to kiss me yesterday, was all I could think about.

"Ren, I have a question." I finally opened my mouth to speak.

"Yeah?" While pushing the cart, he raised his eyebrows.

"Well, I was just wondering... um... what you meant by wanting to kiss me?" I swallowed and cleared my throat.

"Is that all you're thinking about? If I had known, Jesus Kimora-" I rolled my eyes as he snorted.

"Don't. I'm just... curious." I interrupted him. I knew he would do this, why do I bother?

"Does that really need an explanation?" He refused to look me in the eyes and continued to push the cart.

"To me, yes."

"Okay. What I meant by "wanting to" was that I wanted to." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Ren." I sighed.

"Kimora." He mocked.

"Could you please give better context?" I said, and he finally stopped. He turned to face me.

"I mean, kissing you has been at the top of my priority list ever since I met you. I was so attracted to you that I had to kiss you." He says with a straight face, making me wonder if he was serious.

"I-" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"You see, I'm not your type, but you're definitely mine." He smiled at me, which caused my heart to do what it had been doing recently.

"Wow. You certainly have a way with words." I chortle.

"Why? Did my words affect you?"

"No. Because only an idiot would believe such nonsense." I scoffed, and he scrunched his brows as if confused.

"On Friday, you seemed to believe them." He continued, making me feel embarrassed.

"Okay, it seems that the paint we need is this one," I spoke over him, quickly changing the subject, and he laughed from behind me.

"However, you never told me your real reason." He spoke from behind me. I came to a halt in my shelf search for paint.

"I explained my reasoning. I don't know." I avoided his eyes, despite the fact that I could feel them piercing the back of my head.

"That sounds a lot like attraction to me." He reached behind me for the paint we needed, causing our bodies to touch for a split second.

My heart wouldn't stop racing no matter what. And I hated the way his words affect me. I leave the aisle without saying anything else, grabbing the remaining items we needed.

...

After a tension-filled car ride back, we both headed to my dorm.

It's okay, Kimora. Just finish this dreaded project with him, and you'll never have to talk to him again.