They Read My Secret Crush Story Out Loud At The Party Chapter 03

I stared at the message, and tears suddenly spilled down my face.

Mom had just touched my wound. She immediately eased up.

“Does it hurt? I’ll be more careful.”

I shook my head, but I couldn’t stop crying.

Another message came from Julian.

[Are you free tomorrow?]

I typed [Yes.]

I’d barely sent it when a message from Blake popped up.

[Tomorrow. Two o’clock. Same place. Don’t be late.]

We’d made plans a couple of days earlier to go climbing. I was always the first to say yes to things like that, and the first to arrive.

I’d buy Blake’s coffee, carry his helmet, and hold his jacket. Sometimes I’d spend the whole afternoon waiting.

This time, I replied:

[I’m not coming.]

He called almost immediately.

“Still sulking about tonight?”

“No. I’ve got plans.”

He didn’t ask what they were. “What about the stuff I left with you? I need it tomorrow.”

I glanced at the climbing gear in the corner. Last week, he’d handed it all to me, then left the moment Sloane called.

I’d had no choice but to bring it home.

After a few seconds, I gave in. “I’ll drop it off.”

His voice softened. “There. Problem solved. Stop overthinking things and get some sleep.”

The next day, I went to the climbing gym.

Blake was sitting on a bench, watching Sloane scale the wall. As she came down, he caught her with a smile and told her she’d done great.

I looked up at the spot she’d reached on the wall. My fingers curled involuntarily.

I’d come here to practice on my own, hoping to keep up with him. The first time I was suspended above the floor, I was so scared I couldn’t stop crying.

By the time I came down, the skin on both my hands was rubbed raw. I could barely hold a fork.

When I finally made it to the top, I sent Blake the video.

He didn’t reply until the next day.

[That’s it? Sloane did that on her first try.]

I never opened the video again, but I didn’t delete it.

At the end, the instructor had told me how impressive it was that I’d climbed all the way up despite being so frightened.

I couldn’t bring myself to erase those words.

“Raina, want to give it a try?”

Sloane had spotted me. She came over and tugged at my arm.

“No, thanks. My leg hurts.” I shook my head.

“From yesterday? It’s still bothering you?”

Blake glanced at my knee. “Why didn’t you say something last night?”

I gave him a bitter smile. “And get accused of fishing for sympathy again?”

He frowned. “We were drunk and talking nonsense. You’re the only one who took it seriously.”

He bent down, reaching toward my knee.

Beside him, Sloane suddenly hissed in pain.

He straightened immediately and went to her. “What happened to your hand?”

“Just scraped it earlier. It’s nothing.”

There was a scrape on her palm. Trying to open her water bottle had made it sting.

Blake hurried to the front desk for first-aid supplies, cleaned her hand, then unscrewed the cap for her.

Watching how carefully he tended to her, I shifted my injured leg.

But it was Julian I thought of.

If he saw I was hurt, would he take care of me like that?

Blake caught me looking at him. “What?”

“Your knee’s already been treated. You don’t need me to look at it, do you?”

I let out a small laugh. “No. I don’t.”

Sloane slipped her arm through his. “Don’t be like that. You’ll upset her again.”

He didn’t pull away. “If I’m not clear, she’ll get the wrong idea. It’s for her own good.”

Then he seemed to remember something.

“Delete that story.”

“If people we know see it, it’ll make us both look bad.”

His tone left no room for argument.

I shook my head. “No. And don’t worry, Blake. It isn’t about you.”

Sloane tightened her hold on his arm, pretending to plead my case.

“Let it go, Blake. She’s spent years pining over you, and she put her heart into that story. Of course she doesn’t want to delete it.”

“It’s just that the earring’s a dead giveaway. Anyone who knows you will realize it’s about you.”

Blake reached up and removed the stud.

“This?”

He looked at me, then tossed it into the trash can beside him.

“How about now? Still like me?”

I stood frozen.

That wasn’t the stud he’d been wearing when we first met. He’d lost that one a long time ago.

I’d searched store after store for this one, trying to find the closest match to Julian’s.

When I gave it to Blake, he’d put it on without much thought and asked how it looked.

I’d told him it looked good.

He’d chuckled. “That’s all it takes to make you happy? You’re so easy to please.”

I limped toward the trash can.

There were half-finished drinks inside, and the stud had fallen all the way to the bottom. When I bent my knee, a sharp pain shot through it, and I broke out in a cold sweat.

I picked it up anyway.

Someone snickered above me. “Even his trash is precious to her.”

Blake didn’t join in. He caught my arm and pulled me upright, anger creeping into his voice.

“Raina Bennett, do you have any idea how filthy that is?”

I ignored him and carefully wiped the stud with a tissue.

He grew angrier and reached to snatch it from me. I moved it out of reach.

He froze with his hand still outstretched. After a moment, he said coldly, “Suit yourself.”

I went to the restroom and spent a long time cleaning it.

When I came out, Blake was on the phone with his back to the doorway.

“Mom, don’t start. There’s never going to be anything between us.”

“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with her—I just want someone who enjoys the things I do. Raina’s scared of everything we try. It’s exhausting.”

I stood in the doorway, my thoughts drifting.

Over the years, I’d learned not to tell him when I was scared.

Even when his driving made my heart pound so hard I could barely breathe, I’d grip my seat belt and try not to let it show.

Afterward, I’d slip away to throw up, rinse my mouth, and go back to him as though nothing had happened.

I’d done all that, and it still wasn’t enough. I still couldn’t get the man with Julian’s face to give me the love I’d dreamed of.

My phone buzzed, offering an escape.

Julian was calling.

“I’m done here. Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

I gave him the address, my voice catching. “I’ll wait out front.”

“Raina, wait for me. I’ll be right there.”

He seemed to sense something was wrong, his voice gentle but urgent.

I ended the call and turned to leave.

Blake had finished his call, too. He seemed to have overheard mine, because he walked over and caught my wrist.

“Who’s picking you up?”