Layers of Heat

Layer 16

Winnie frowned and stared at Miles with utter confusion. "If this is about Leila and Ken, then stop overthinking it. Even if they're together, it doesn't mean we have to get along too."

"Why not?" Miles retorted. "Don't tell me you enjoy this relationship we have?"

She scoffed, "Who in the world would enjoy this?"

"That's my point! So let me apologize! Let me..." He hesitated to finish. "Let me..."

"Let you what?" Winnie pushed him to continue.

"Let me start over with you."

For several seconds, they just stood there and stared at each other. She didn't know what to make of his words or the expression on his face. If this was some sort of joke, she didn't find it funny. If he was being serious, what did he expect her reaction to be?

Oh, okay! Sure!

Winnie scoffed. Miles frowned at her reaction.

"So what you're saying is you want to be friends," she blandly stated.

"You say it like it's ridiculous."

"It is. For years, we haven't gotten along. And I doubt we ever will."

"We can," he firmly said. "When it concerned Ken and Leila, we were civil."

"Only because we wanted things to work out between them. Besides, I care more about Leila than I care about our feud."

Unlike her expectations, her words didn't tick Miles off, even though he usually hated it when she expressed her absolute loathing for him.

"That just means your grudge for me can become something insignificant. Something forgotten."

"My grudge for you?" she repeated his words in incredulity. "You make it sound like I'm the only problem here."

"Between the two of us, who is the one pushing for reconciliation and who is the one refusing it?"

Winnie pressed her lips into a thin line, absolutely loathing his rational inquiry.

"Maybe it's because we don't need to reconcile to move on in our lives," she mumbled unconvincingly.

"So you'd rather have me remember you whenever I think of people I dislike?" Miles took a step towards her, causing her to take a cautious step back. It didn't matter though, because one of his strides equaled to two—possibly three—of hers. "If I didn't know any better, it sounds like you want me to constantly think about you for the rest of my life."

Winnie gaped at him. "You're crazy!"

He raised a brow. "You're the one who enjoys making me crazy."

Unsure of how to respond, Winnie simply let her jaw hang open. Miles took another step towards her, but she was too shocked by his teasing to step back, causing them to stand awfully close—too close. It was hard to breathe, as if his mere proximity was taking her breath away.

"Winnie," he sighed. "What are we going to do?"

"We?" she squeaked.

"Yes. We. You and I. This is a group effort, after all."

"I-I...y-you..." Winnie stuttered, unable to form a proper sentence. She couldn't falter. Not now. Not to Miles! Finally, she replied simply, "No."

"No?"

"No. I refuse to participate. I refuse to think about this."

Then she shoved past him, her small stature barely moving him. Rather, she was the one shoved aside by the collision, but with stumbling steps, she managed to continue walking away. Thankfully, Miles didn't stop her or chase after her.

However, they both knew this was far from over with.