Page 279 of Rush
His throat moves, like he’s swallowing something thick.
“Elena…”
I shrug, heart thudding hard against my ribs. “You’re always traveling, and I thought…maybe this would remind you of home. To, you know…always come back.”
To me.
He looks up at me—jaw tight, eyes so full I can’t breathe.
Then he grabs my face and kisses me—deep, fierce, like he’s searching for the answer in my mouth.
When he pulls back, his breath hitches. “Elena…be my girlfriend? Please?”
Girlfriend.
The word lands like a rock. The last time I was someone’s girlfriend—it was Alex.
No. Fuck.
I pull away. The fear of history repeating itself overtakes the moment.
You will drive him away.
The thought rears itself, ugly and cruel.
“Broderick, don’t.”
His face freezes. “What do you mean, don’t?”
I see the hurt before he even says it—the flicker in his eyes before it hardens.
“I’m so confused. You said we’d work on more, and this—” he holds up the compass “—I’ve been patient. I’ve let you decide how far this goes—but what are we even waiting for? What’s holding you back?”
He’s right. And I have no reasonable explanation.
He steps back.
“I need to know. Am I still just a rebound? Am I even an option? Because you’re in my bed every chance you get, we’re together more than half the couples I know, and still…” He exhales sharply. “You won’t call it what it is.”
“Brody—”
He cuts me off. “Is it because of Alex?”
I look down at my feet, feeling the shame painted all over my face.
“Are you still in love with him or something?”
Yes—but I can’t admit that to him. “It’s not—” My words fail me.
He exhales, sharp. “Because if that’s it, I need to hear you say it. I need to know I’m not the only one standing in this thing.”
I shake my head. “It’s complicated.”
And I curse myself for saying the exact same thing Alex said to me.
“It doesn’t have to be.”
The quiet certainty of it hurts more than anger ever could.
