Really!? Was that his phone going off in his pocket?
He broke their eye contact to glance back at his pocket as he fingered his phone. It was probably a telemarketer! He didn’t recognize the number, so he let it go to voicemail, but the moment was frustratingly lost.
He glanced back at her sweet lips. They still looked eminently kissable. He sighed and then remembered the journal she was trying so hard to protect from his searching eyes.
He reached out and slid his fingers under her side. Her eyes flew wide open.
“Hey!” As anticipated, she jumped back, leaping off his bed and leaving her notebook exposed to his seeking hand.
He grabbed it and leapt off his bed himself. He quickly opened it to a page in the center. His eyes took in her neat script as he devoured the first sentence, skipping over the greeting.
“Am I dying?”
What?!
His eyes sought her face. She was standing before him, looking like her best friend had betrayed her. He slammed the book shut and held it out towards her. She reached out and pulled it from his long fingers. She was crushed.
“I’m sorry.”
Then he shocked her by bowing to her. He stood bent over, not moving, his face pointed towards the floor, his sandy blond head all she could see. Her heart flipped over. She stepped forward, tossing her book onto the bed as she approached him.
“Joonie.” It was just a breath. Enough that it whispered in his ears.
She reached for him, touching his shoulder. He raised sorrowful eyes to look at her. Then he began to slowly straighten himself up to his full height, now towering over her.
“Please tell me you’re not really dying?”
He was sick to his stomach. Could it be? Could this wonderful girl, this dream girl, be a fading flower, here today, gone tomorrow?
She was staring at him, mortified. In order to comfort him, she’d have to betray herself. But she couldn’t leave him in such agony.
“I’m not dying, Joonie.”
He was puzzled. “Then why did you write that?”
She sighed and reached for her journal. She opened it up to the entry in question. Why, oh, why had she ever written this down?