"You got this… for me?" I asked Eddie, holding the leather-bound book he placed in my hands as we stood in his living room. He nodded his head casually.
"Yeah, well, I remember you said you liked books, and I saw this one in the thrift store and… I dunno, I thought you'd like it." I traced my fingers over the cover: a Harry Potter book, not even the first one in the series, but the fifth. I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders.
"Well, thank you, that was nice of you," I replied, resisting the urge to mention I had already read the whole series when I was in middle school and this would be of no use to me if I hadn't read the first four.
"It's no big deal," he shrugged. Yeah, no shit, I thought in my head.
"Is this your idea of a peace offering?" I asked, feeling bold. He raised an eyebrow and gazed curiously into my eyes.
"A peace offering?" he questioned genuinely. "Are we not peaceful?" I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"No, we are. Nevermind." He made me feel stupid, irrational, dramatic. I turned to walk back outside, but he grabbed my wrist from behind, tugging me back toward him.
"What?" he asked. Somehow, the disappointed and confused look in his eyes managed to look genuine. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's nothing, really. I'm all good," I attempted to reassure him, unconvincingly. He tightened his grip around my wrist.
"You talking about Colton's a few weeks back?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. I couldn't really decipher the expression on his face - it seemed to be a mix of both amusement and confusion?
"Kinda," I admitted, unable to look him in his eyes. "I mean, I'm not, like, mad or anything," I quickly defended myself. "I don't know, it was just weird… seeing that."
"That's fair," he - surprisingly - reassured me. "I didn't mean for that to happen, obviously. She's just a friend from home," he shrugged. "Can I ask why it upset you?" he asked, the same damn smirk on his face. I didn't really know what to say. Because I'm a big, virgin cry-baby?
Instead, I responded: "I don't really know. I just felt… unimportant? Betrayed? I get it, it's probably weird and whatever… but I was just excited after that earlier afternoon. I wanted to talk with you more, but then… I saw that. I just felt shut out, like an afterthought." I felt completely vulnerable at this moment, wearing my heart on my sleeve. Putting it all out on the table. I felt slightly relieved when his amused smirk morphed into a disappointed frown.
"No, no, it's not weird, I promise," he reassured me. "I get it, and I'm sorry. Just know, you aren't an afterthought. I've thought about you a lot over these last couple weeks, actually," he confessed. I raised an eyebrow at him, skeptical of his words.
"How so?" I questioned curiously.
"I just have been wanting to see you again," he answered in a low voice, slowly bringing his body closer to mine. "I missed you," he whispered, slowly wrapping his hand around the small of my back, gazing lustfully into my eyes.
"No, you don't, Eddie," I whispered back, refusing his advances yet not backing away.
"I did." He gently tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear.
"You don't even know me."
"That's what you think," he pressed his forehead to mine, our eyes still locked. "I know exactly who you are, and that's what's so beautiful about you. You don't even have to say a word, and I know exactly what you're feeling." I blushed, internally wanting to cower away from his intense gaze and interpretation, but externally keeping my composure as best I could. "And right now, you're thinking that you don't believe me," he continued. "You're thinking that I'm lying, that I'm using you, that you aren't good enough." I closed my eyes, trying to shut him out. His words were too real, too true, so much so that it pained me. I felt his warm, rough palm cup my cheek, grazing his thumb lightly against my temple. "None of that is true," he whispered before giving me a single gentle kiss on my lips.
Suddenly, the door flung open, abruptly breaking our physical contact. I watched as Brendan stood in the doorway, a confused look on his face. He shook his head lightly and asked Eddie: "Mind if I use the bathroom?"
"Sure man, you know where it is," Eddie motioned down the hallway casually. Brendan showed no emotion, which was par for the course, but after his confession, I knew he must be hurting deep down. I felt terrible. I didn't want him to feel betrayed. I cared about Brendan's friendship more than I cared about Eddie's attention. Eddie noticed my uncomfortability and smirked, leaning against the tall curio cabinet, putting me in another trance. "Why so shy?" he teased. I groaned and flirtatiously rolled my eyes, giving him a cheesy grin before walking back outside.