Only Mine

“It’s not you,” she said quickly. “It’s me. I’m sure you’re a great guy.”

“Don’t say nice,” he warned her. “That only makes it worse.”

“Okay, then,” she said slowly. “I’m sure you’re not nice. Is that better?”

He surprised her by smiling. A casual but friendly smile. One that made her forget how to breathe.

“Not by much.” He took her elbow and led her into an empty meeting room. “So what’s the deal? Why don’t you want to be on the show with me?”

It was hard to think with his fingers curled around her elbow like that. In her world, men didn’t touch her. They barely knew she was alive.

He was standing too close. How was she supposed to think with him taking up all the air in the room? While this would be a good time to self-edit, the truth bubbled up before she could stop it.

“Look at you,” she said. “You’re this gorgeous guy. You could have anyone. You should be hitting on coeds. You’re not anyone who would be interested in someone like me. Even ignoring the age difference, I’m not your type. Do you know what I do in my regular life? I’m an accountant. Look up boring in the dictionary and you’ll find some version of me.”

Knowing that if she didn’t get some small measure of self-control soon, she was going to make an even deeper hole to fall into, Aurelia pulled her arm free and stepped back.

Instead of looking horrified, Stephen appeared amused. Humor brightened his eyes, and one corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

“That’s quite a list,” he told her. “Where should I start?”

“No,” she said with a sigh. “I understand this is my fault. I should never have signed up to do the show. I didn’t really want to, it’s just …” She twisted her hands together. “At the risk of being a cliché, my mother made me do it. She’s always on me about stuff. And the money. I thought … maybe, if there was someone else, it would be easier to stand up to her.” She groaned. “That makes me sound so pathetic.”

“Hey, I get it. I know what it’s like when someone in your family thinks they can run your life. Not wanting to do what they say doesn’t mean you don’t love them.”

Aurelia wasn’t sure what she felt for her mother. Love, of course, but sometimes the love felt more dutiful than sincere. Which made her a horrible person, she knew.

“My brother flew here from Alaska to yell at me about leaving college,” Stephen said. “That’s how much he doesn’t want me to do this.”

“What’s wrong with you doing the show?” She did the math in her head, then looked at him. “You’re really close to graduating, aren’t you?”