Nova Scotia

Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

We moved the party to the couch with our pasta. Once we had gotten comfortable, I began to eat and waited for Dallas to continue his story.

"We were sixteen," Dallas began. "Her name was Amelia. She moved here from New York with her family. We met, we dated, and we got serious." He wouldn't lift his gaze from his plate of pasta.

"What was the catch?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "What went wrong?"

"She left her friends and school behind in New York," Dallas said slowly. "But she brought something with her. Not baggage, like you'd expect. A boyfriend."

I stared at him, suddenly realizing what Dallas meant. "Oh. Oh, Dallas."

He shrugged. "School ended, we graduated. He got a football scholarship in Florida and she got into the Arts program there. Happily ever after." He smiled at me. "Coincidence, huh? She was my first everything, really, and when you came into town, I wondered if you were meant to be the second. But maybe I just have really, really shitty luck."

"Meant to be?" I raised my eyebrows again. "Dallas-"

He laughed quietly. "Sorry," he murmured. "That was sappy. All I mean is, this is the second time I've come across this. I lost last time. I don't know if I can lose again. I don't even know if you're worth losing again, as harsh as that sounds." He looked up at me. "I hope you are, though," he said earnestly. "Believe me, Candice Li. I hope you are."

I looked down. "You want me to break up with Evan because you don't want me to be Amelia. You're comparing me to your ex-girlfriend who dumped you and moved across the continent to get away from what she did."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are," I said sharply. "And let me tell you something, Dallas White, I am me. I am Candice, not Amelia. You call me Candice Li every single time you speak to me, but all you see in me is the bitch who left you for some dumb jock in Florida."

Dallas stared at me. "Candice-"

"You can get the hell out of my house with your misogynistic back-story," I said coldly. "Now."

He shook his head. "Can-"

"No," I cut him off. "You don't wanna write me off, Dallas? Fine, don't. I'll do it for you. Consider yourself written off. Now get out, because I don't think I even want to ease your goddamn conscience. And screw you for using your sob story to get me to get with you. You're an ass. I don't even know how you can-"

Dallas cut me off with a kiss. It lasted only a moment but it was long enough to shut me up.

"Go ahead," Dallas whispered when we broke apart. "Write me off, Candice Li. What, you think I'm planning on jumping your bones the moment you break up with Evan? Do you really think I'm like that?" His fingers wound themselves in my hair. My breath caught in my throat. "Candice," he whispered. "Don't you know me at all?" His gaze met mine.

I pushed his hands away. "You're confusing me," I muttered. "One minute, you don't know if I'm worth it, the next, you want me? What the hell is going on, Dallas? I want the truth," I added when he began to speak. "Dallas, I want to know what the hell is going on. I'm here in Bedford to stay, and you won't be the one to make me leave, because I won't leave."