Bet Me

Chapter 26

“What exactly did you want to talk about?” I asked James when we finally separated from our hug. “I wanted to talk to you about us, or what use to be us.” He said, leading me to the couch. “Let’s sit on the couch and talk, unless you want to eat dinner or something?” he asked me. “Nah, I’m good. Let me just take off my heels. My feet are killing me.” I said. “Would you like me to massage them for you?” he asked me. “I’d love for you to but I’m extra ticklish on my feet so no.” I replied. He grinned at me, remembering the times where we would get into a tickling fight.

I opened the strap on my shoes and slid them off my feet. I placed the shoes beside the couch and took a seat on one side of the couch, with my feet under me. My dress would probably become wrinkled but I really didn’t care anymore. Seconds later, James also took off his shoes and suit jacket and took a seat on the other side of the couch, facing me.

“How was prom?” he asked me. “It wasn’t how I had imagined it but it was still very good.” I answered truthfully. “How had you imagined it to be?” he asked me, staring into my eyes. “I imagined going with a different date, someone that I like like.” I answered without giving away too much info. He just nodded and continued to stare at me. “Did you ever imagine us going together?” he asked me directly. I paused but answered. “Yes, I actually did.”

“Ohh, me too. You know Elena, I really miss you.” He added. I just pulled my lips into a tight smile and looked away from his face. “Don’t you miss me?” he asked. “I do. I miss you a lot.” I said. “Elena, can you look at me while I tell you what I have to say?” he said to me. I slowly looked up at him. He stared into my eyes for a few minutes before speaking up.

“Elena, I know I hurt you bad and I feel awful for it. I didn’t mean for things to get so crazy. I should have admitted I liked you in the beginning but I was scared. What I feel for you is different from how I felt about all of my previous girlfriends. When we went to the beach over spring break, I knew I was beginning to fall in love with you but I was so scared that I just kept pushing you away. I wanted to avoid a relationship but by doing that, I ruined our friendship. On top of all that, I began to think that you liked Luke more than me so that gave me another reason to push you away. But now, I have realized that pushing you away was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.” At this point, James had moved away from his side of the couch and came closer to me. He took my hand in his hands and began caressing my hand. He stroked my hand with his thumb and continued looking deep into my eyes.

“These past few weeks without you have been brutal. I miss us. I miss your friendship. I miss the way you always argue with me. I miss the way you can’t take compliments. I miss the way your cheeks turn a bright shade of red when you get embarrassed. I miss the way you laugh when I tell you a corny joke. I miss the way you try to fight back when we wrestle. I miss the way you laugh when I tickle you. I miss the way you randomly start a conversation when we run out of things to talk about. I miss the way you say random things when you try to avoid getting work done. I miss the way you freak out when I drive crazy. I miss the way you bite your lip and crinkle your nose when you are thinking. I miss the way you lean on me when we watch movies. I miss when I wake up next to you in the mornings. I miss watching you while you sleep in my arms. I miss the way you look at me. I miss everything about you.

“Can you please give me another chance? I don’t want to go back to where we were just friends. I can’t even remember not having you as a friend. I’m really sorry for everything.” He finished saying. By then, the tears were already running down my face. I was silently crying and James looked at me concerned. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’m sorry.” He said, frowning. “No, it’s okay. They’re actually tears of joy.” I told him. “Tears of joy?” he repeated. “Yeah. I’m glad that you still like me because I still like you. I was even beginning to fall in love with you during spring break but all that stuff went down and I didn’t know if I still felt the same. It just feels really good to like someone and have them like you back in return. The time I had with Luke was fun but I didn’t have those real feelings. I wish you guys didn’t ruin your friendship but I guess that’s just how it had to be. I’m really glad we talked James. It’s good to know that we’re on the same page.” I replied, wiping my tears away. I finally had let down the walls I built around my heart. I really wanted to try this relationship thing with James. I knew I could potentially fall all the way in love with him and I wanted to take that chance.