The Kiss

run.
    “Eliza, I’ve been nice to you, right?” Her face must have betrayed how incredulous she felt, because he went on. “I mean lately . I’ve been nice lately . Haven’t been teasing you. Even apologized.”
    She narrowed her eyes, trying to understand what he was getting at. “If you don’t explain, I can guarantee I’ll make it hurt. For you.”
    His whole body sagged. “I got a note.”
    “Not much sense is being made here.”
    “An anonymous note. Saying if I ever treated you wrong again, they’d know.”
    “Who would…? Oh, right. Anonymous.” She rolled her eyes. “So?”
    “They knew something about me. Something I want to be kept secret.” He gave her his best puppy-eyed look. “If I hurt you again, my life is ruined.”
    Eliza let a few long moments go by, taking a perverse pleasure in his obvious discomfort. “Well, tell me where Nate lives and you won’t have to worry about that,” she finally said.
    ***
    Nate took a long drag from his cigarette and, for the millionth time, told himself he wasn’t a coward for running out on her. More, that he wasn’t an idiot for doing so while she was topless.
    He never should have kissed her at The Zoo . He should have let sleeping dogs lie. Still, he couldn’t regret those perfect few moments when she’d returned his passion that night, or how she’d responded to him just a few short hours ago.
    He sure as hell felt like shit for the look she’d given him when she’d realized he’d been the one to kiss her in the dark. The look of confusion and pain that had replaced the one of desire in her eyes would stay with him forever, he knew. It was that look he’d hoped to escape by fleeing.
    He wished he could just run back to her dorm room, sweep her off her feet, and admit everything. If he could just tell her how he’d tried to spare her Greg’s plans, if he could tell her he’d fallen for her before they’d ever spoken…
    She wouldn’t listen—not that he could blame her.
    Greg wouldn’t mind if Nate made a move for her now, but Nate could never be with Eliza if Greg was in his life, acting as a constant reminder of how she’d been played. Nate couldn’t possibly expect her to have to see her ex-boyfriend, when the two of them went out as a couple.
    He let out a bitter laugh. When they went out as a couple . Eliza would never give him the time of day; he’d made sure of that through a string of idiotic stunts.
    Still, maybe there was a chance…
    He shook his head, threw the cigarette butt off the roof, and climbed back inside his room. There was no chance for them , but there was still a chance for him. He would stop pretending to be someone he wasn’t.
    Even if that left him completely alone.
    He was a coward. Not just for leaving her the previous night, but for not daring to show up at campus. What was he afraid of?
    He rubbed his eyes. Staying awake all night was taking its toll on him. He needed a cup of coffee.
    The kitchen was downstairs. He made it there without tripping, though his feet felt made of lead.
    When the coffee was ready, he poured two cups and took one of them to his dad.
    “Making me coffee, Nathaniel?” The man looked up from his newspaper. “Something must be seriously wrong with you.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Keep making fun of me. See if I ever do something nice for you again.” Nate’s answer lacked conviction with his mind preoccupied as it was.
    Jonathan put the paper aside and looked at his son with his unique mixture of parental love and shrewd observance. “Is there something you want to talk about?”
    Yes. He wanted to talk about how he’d decided to break away from the only people he’d called friends for as long as he could remember, and was afraid to face them. He needed to talk about that girl he was head over heels for, who hated his guts because he’d been a complete jackass to her, and the idea of seeing that written all over her face again scared the hell out of him. “No. Nothing. I’ll be in my room.”
    A little time alone should help him figure out what to do. He couldn’t avoid everyone forever. Of course, Eliza wouldn’t mind never seeing him again. He punched the doorframe of his bedroom. If he lingered on that thought too long, he might crumble, so he wouldn’t think about Eliza until he was all right with himself.
    ***
    Jonathan had an ah-huh moment when, an hour later, he opened the door to a pretty young lady asking for his son by that horrible nickname the boy had