I turn back, grab my bag, and then I turn toreallywalk away for good this time, never mind if my exit isn’t as grand as it’s supposed to be.
You’re so bad at this, Nics!
I can feel him still staring at me, but I tell myself not to fall for it.Stranger dangeris real, and if he’s asking me out when he doesn’t know me at all, then he’s not to be trusted.
The doors click shut behind me, and I find myself gripping the strap of my bag so, so tightly that my knuckles start turning white.
I’m not the most popular girl in college, and I may be miles away from home, but rumors have a way of spreading like an uncontainable virus. The uglier the rumors are, the wider the spread, and that’s why...
I’m sure that guy has heard about Adele, too, and even though no one’s ever said it to my face—
I know what they're thinking.
That it's only a matter of time before I give in and follow in my mother's footsteps.
Chapter Thirteen
“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT.”
I press my hands over my mouth as I say it, half-sitting up in a guestroom bed that’s so luxurious it can double as a fancy suite in a fancy hotel. My gaze flies up to Mr. Everford, who’s standing at the foot of the bed with his hands in the pockets of his trousers, and even though I really do remember now—
How is that possible?
How can the stranger and Mr. Everford be one and the same person?
“I understand,” he says mockingly. “I must’ve looked a lot differently back then.”
I can only wince at his words, and I can’t even say he’s being unreasonable because he’s not. I know what this looks like, but he...he doesn’t understand.
“I...I know you think I’m lying,” I stammer, “but I really...I didn’t...”
I’m hoping I could find a way to explain things without admitting the truth, but...nope. It’s clear to me now the truth is really the only way out, and so—
“I had really bad eyesight back them...but I never wore glasses.”
I find myself twisting a corner of the duvet between my fingers without looking at him, embarrassment and shame risingtogether because now that I’m twenty years older, the way I acted then just seems so unnecessarily...shallow.
“Sandy didn’t like me wearing them. He says it makes me look old, which I’m sure it does, so I only used them when no one was around.”
“I see.”
Why does it feel like he’s just playing along? Why does it seem like he still thinks I’m—oh.
“The sheet music was just for show. I wasn’t using them when playing. Whenever I’m rehearsing in public, I only play the songs I’ve memorized.”
His gaze narrows, but I tell myself that’s a good thing. At least he’s giving me the benefit of doubt this time.
“What about now?”
“After we graduated from college, Sandy paid for corrective surgery.”
He studies me in silence, his handsome face inscrutable, and I find myself gnawing uncertainly on my lip because honestly...
“That changes a lot of things,” he says quietly.
Did it, really?
I just don’t know what to think right now or how to process the fact that Mr. Everford and I met twenty years ago. And when I think about how he’s the same man who once asked me out on a date—