It's About Time (Blossom Peak #4)(95)

His brows draw together. “What? When did I say I’d never date you?”

I close my eyes and turn away from him. “When we were in high school.”

He’s silent as he wracks his memory. Meanwhile, I lift my suitcase and find a baggy T-shirt I brought to sleep in, sliding it over my body and tossing the towel to the floor. “Dilynne, I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

No turning back now, Dilynne.

I twist back to face him, crossing my arms over my body like the movement might actually protect me from this exchange. “You and Nikko Ventura had a full conversation about how me being in auto shop made me so unfeminine, and that no man would want to date a girl like me.”

His eyes are so full of confusion that I almost feel bad for bringing this up. But Laney was right. If I’m feeling anything for Elliot, I have to let this out. She managed to do the same thing with Fletcher, and it worked out for them.

Only, Elliot’s face doesn’t look remorseful. No, he looks fucking pissed.

“Is that…” He pushes a hand through his unruly hair. “Is that why you’ve always hated me?”

Shrugging, I say, “You might not think it’s a big deal…”

“ Obviously it is—because it’s the reason our relationship has been this volatile for years.” He pushes a hand through his hair again as he begins to pace. “How old was I?”

“You were a senior,” I reply, watching him start to wear a path into the carpet. “It was one day during sixth period when you and Nikko were getting ready to go out on the football field and I got called up to the office, so I was walking by the blacktop when I overheard the two of you.”

His gaze meets mine. “God, Dilynne. I’m so sorry, but I don’t remember that.”

I arch a brow. “It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

He closes the distance between us and I take in a sharp breath as his hands frame my face. “I’m so fucking sorry.” His lips land on mine, soft and subtle before he pulls back again. “Fuck. I can’t believe you thought that’s what I thought about you.”

“Well, that’s what you said so what else was I supposed to think?”

“I was seventeen with a stupid ass friend I was just trying to fit in with, and a crush on my best friend’s little sister that I didn’t know what to do with.”

His admission almost slips by me. “What? You—you had a crush on Laney too?”

He huffs out a laugh. “No, Dilynne. You. I—I had a thing for you back then and knew I couldn’t do anything about it, so I always acted like you were the last person I’d be interested in.”

My stomach flips, and not in the good way. “What?”

When he rests his forehead on mine, dizziness assaults me because those words are the last ones I ever imagined hearing from him. “The boys and I made that stupid pact, remember?”

“I swear, that fucking pact should never have been made…”

His laughter surrounds me as he pulls me into him more. “Agreed, but here’s the thing, Dilynne. I don’t know that you and I ever would have worked back then.”

I lift my head up to see his eyes. “So what is this?”

“This is how it was supposed to be. Us now—older, wiser, more willing to put in the work. I sure as hell know that back then, I wouldn’t have appreciated you the way I do now. After my grandparents died, I wasn’t a big fan of relationships, remember?”

“Holy shit,” I whisper as the past few minutes replay in my head.

“But I truly am sorry,” he continues. “I totally get why you acted the way you did toward me now.”

I take a step back from him, wrapping my arms around my body tighter because even though he’s apologizing, I don’t think he understands the magnitude of how he affected me. “You made me question myself, Elliot. It wasn’t just the words that you said, it was how they impacted me. I knew I was going to struggle with the career that I chose, but…” I let out a heavy sigh. “It was the first time I think I ever learned that our words carry weight, and yours settled on my chest and fed into one of my worst fears.”

His eyes lock onto mine. “Which is?” I shake my head at him, keeping my lips closed. He grows frustrated. “What is your worst fear, Dilynne?”

“No. You don’t get that from me yet.”

His voice rises with irritation. “How am I supposed to fix this then?”

“I don’t know that you can!” I shout back at him, fully letting the truth out.

Shaking his head, he plants his hands on his hips. “So, you finally admit why you’ve hated me all these years, but you aren’t willing to let me fix it?”

My eyes start to leak again, so I give him my back. “God, I knew this was a mistake.”

In a flash, his chest collides with my back. “No. You and me are not a mistake. Do you hear me?” His chin rests on my shoulder, but he lets me cry for a minute before he speaks again. “You make me want to be a better man, Dilynne. And do you know why?” His question rests between us, but I don’t answer. “Because of your words.”

I turn to look at him over my shoulder. “What?”

“Your words, your heart…” He cups my cheek as he guides me to spin around to face him. “Every time you called me an asshole, I took it in. I was an asshole, the anger I carried around from my own stupidity. But you made me see that what happened wasn’t my fault.”