Work Hard, Play Hard

Six. Honesty

It was a few weeks after I'd met Jace and he was over at my apartment watching a movie with me. Out of nowhere he paused the movie and looked at me.

"Hey! It was just getting to the good part!" I exclaimed as I chewed on my popcorn.

"Yeah, but there's something I need to know." He said in a serious tone.

"Okay... and what's that?" I asked curiously.

"How do you feel about me?" He asked. I had no idea how to respond. His question threw me off guard completely.

"What do you mean? You're my friend..." I answered, unsure if that was what he wanted to hear.

"Oh... okay...." He said quietly as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" I asked. "What about the movie?"

"Forget the movie. I'm done." He said with sadness in his voice.

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked.

"I honestly don't even know. Maybe something is wrong with me because I feel so strongly connected to a girl that only thinks of me as a friend and I wish we could be more because she is really special and I....." He said while pacing back and forth with his head down.

"Jace.... and you what?" I asked quietly. I was so confused.

"And I think I might be in love with her." He said bluntly.

"Be in love with who?" I asked nervously.

At that moment a million questions flowed through my mind. Who is this girl? Did he have a girlfriend this whole time? How do I even feel about Jace?

"You... Callie. It's all you. You make me feel like I'm crazy whenever I'm around you. My heart flutters. I can't take my eyes off of you, no matter how hard I try." He said looking me straight in the eyes.

Tears began to form in my eyes. No guy had ever said anything like that to me before. To be honest, I felt the same way about Jace, but I tried to push those feelings aside because I didn't know if he felt the same way.

"I'm sorry Callie." He said as he rushed over to hug me.

"It's okay." I said through my tears. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

"I made you cry." He said sadly.

"Yeah... tears of joy." I said with a smile as he smiled back.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"I mean that I feel the same way about you. I just didn't know how you felt and that was the sweetest thing any guy has ever said to me." I said crying even harder. My tough, bad girl image was slowly starting to fade and the real me was starting to come out again.

"Really?" He asked as if he didn't believe my words.

"Yes. You helped me off those steps, remember? You slept next to me to comfort me, remember? You're a true gentleman. That's all you and I love you for that." I said while holding his soft cheeks.

"I love you too." He said as we both slowly leaned in and kissed each other's lips. It was such a surreal moment. I hadn't felt something so real in my life.

"So... what does this mean?" I asked after we pulled away from the kiss.

"I hope it means that you're my girlfriend now." He said cutely.

"I guess it does." I said as we giggled and rolled around on the floor like kids.

"You're so beautiful Callie. Never forget your worth." He said as he tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Thanks... I haven't felt beautiful in a while." I said sadly.

"Why is that?" He asked with a confused look on his face.

"Well... I've changed so much and the old me was beautiful, not just outside, but inside as well, and this version isn't. If you knew me before, you would understand. I just want to get back to being me, although I feel like I am almost there." I said, looking down as guilt came over me.

"Look, you know what you're talking about, but I don't. You're beautiful to me in every way. Regardless of how you might feel." He said sincerely, which made me cry again!

"You're just not gonna stop making me cry today, are you?" I asked with a laugh.

"As long as those are tears of joy, then no." He said while rubbing my back.