“Hey, T-Bird, what’s wrong?”
His thumb brushed under her eyes, startling her out of her thoughts. It was then that she realized that she was crying and she panicked, trying to draw away from him. “Ah, i-it’s nothing, I promise, I’m okay!” She pulled her hands away from him to try to wipe her tears away, mentally cursing at herself for worrying him. “I’m fine!”
“Did I do somethin’ wrong?” His eyebrows were pinched together with concern as he quickly drew his hands away from her. “Shit, I’m so sorry, T, you should have told me–”
“No no no!” she said quickly, dread sinking deep into her belly. Crap, she couldn’t let him think this was his fault, she didn’t want that argument. “It’s not your fault, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–”
He blinked at her, tilting his head to the side as confusion marred his expression. “Tina, why are you apologizin’? Yer allowed to cry, it’s okay.”
His words made her freeze in place and for a moment all she could do was stare at him. Oh. That…of course she was, but she just…she thought…
Carefully, slowly, he reached up to cup her face again, his thumbs wiping away the tear streaks on her cheeks. “Tina, it’s okay,” he repeated gently, his eyes soft as he looked down at her. “I’m not upset attcha for cryin’, okay? I just wanted to know if I’d done somethin’ so that I can avoid doin’ it again. Okay?” He smiled at her, leaning down to kiss her forehead again. “So please stop beatin’ yerself up. Please.”
Her heart ached and she was struck by the urge to cry again. This boy…how had she known him for this many years and never seen how amazing he was? How had she been able to stand being with Jimmy Jr. and Jordan when he was right there, ready to be the best thing that could ever happen to her? And yeah, she’d just broken up with Jordan yesterday, but she’d been done with the relationship for months. The only reason she’d been able to keep going was because of the boy in front of her.
How in the world had she fallen for anyone else before when the perfect man was right there?
