Chapter 21

• Leo
• Tonight, had been going great. Even better than Leo had hoped. He and Amara had joked and laughed and talked, and it was always a good sign when you completely lost track of time. There were no awkward silences; their conversation just flowed easily. It felt like they were really clicking with each other, and he didn't think he was the only one who thought so. Amara visibly relaxed around him over the course of the night. But now she'd dropped this massive bomb and asked the question that could quite possibly make or break the rest of the night entirely. And he had a feeling that how he responded to the question could quite possibly make or break how things went from here. It was a moment that felt so real, so crucial, and for a second, he was filled with dread that he was going to blow this.
• In a manner, he was glad that she had asked him why he had made her life hell. He had to explain, to make her see that he had never considered her a laughingstock, that he had always considered her way out of his league. But in another, he wished that she hadn't brought it up now after they had shared such a wonderful night. He wasn't sure that he was ready to be able to explain it right. But he didn't think that he would ever be ready to do that, and he knew inside that if he was going to get Amara to start trusting him, then he was going to have to be honest with her. He had to give her the explanation she had always deserved. He might mess it up, but if he didn't at least try to explain it to her, it would always hang between them and keep them from being all in together.