“I’m serious, Ben. If you don’t want me here, just tell me to go.”

“What?” When I whip my head up from my lap, Holly is sitting cross-legged in her chair, staring at me as if she could drill past my skull and dig into my brain.

Please don’t let her be a mind-reader.

I mute the movie. “Why do you think I don’t want you here?”

“Because you won’t look at me. And, when you do, I get the sense that you’re uncomfortable.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Holly leans forward, eyes locking mine in place, so I have no option but to meet hers.

“Ben, I want you to know something about me. I make it a point not to lie to my friends. That doesn’t mean I’m going to spill all my secrets and tell you every detail of my life. But, if you ask me a question, I’ll be honest. I’ll either give you the answer or tell you I’d rather not talk about it. Now, can you promise me the same?”

Shit. This girl won’t stop knocking me on my ass.

I clear my throat, needing a second. “Yes, I promise.”

That earns me a small smile, but the intensity remains in her eyes. “Good. Now, what’s wrong?”

She gave me an out. She said I could claim I didn’t want to talk about it and that she’d let it drop. But the thing is, I don’t want to evade her. I like the idea of honesty between us, but it’ll feel one-sided if I avoid the hard questions.

So, how to answer her without confessing my crush and ruining the fact that she showed up here today to see me?

“I haven’t heard from you in a while. I guess I’m worried I did something that upset you. And I don’t want to do it again.”

Holly leans forward to grasp my hand, her face earnest and her skin warm. “No, Ben. That’s all on me. I’m …” She trails off.

“You’re what?”

She releases me to gesture between us. “Bad at this.” I raise an eyebrow, and she deflates on a sigh, trying again. “This is going to sound lame, but I don’t have a lot of friends.”

Really? Who wouldn’t want to be friends with Holly?

“I’ve been told I don’t let people get close easily. So, I guess, when we started hanging out, I panicked. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have avoided you.”

Interesting. Maybe I wasn’t the only one feeling that heat between us. Holly just isn’t as receptive to it as I am. But she’s here, so that’s something.

“Okay. You’re forgiven.”

“Just like that?”

She gives me the start of a smile, so I push for more.

“Well, if you want me to come up with some type of punishment, I can do that.” I give her my best evil villain grin.

She smirks. “And what exactly would that be?”

“Hmm, I don’t know.” I want to make it something dirty, like a spanking, but I keep the mood light. “How about thirty days in the stocks? Or you give me all your worldly possessions?”