Texas Stars ✓

Chapter 9 - Keep It To Yourself

Isaac

We looked into each other's eyes far longer than needed. Her eyes held an intensity that couldn't be explained; it was as if she either wanted to kill me or kiss me. If I were a gambling man, I'd put my money on the former. 

        "So now that we're just friends again," Debbie tore her eyes away from my gaze, "I'll be going."

        Little did she know how much that one sentence could hurt. Friends. Just friends. How more hurtful could it be? You never told her how much you liked her, so how is she supposed to know how hurtful it was? I was having an argument with myself when I heard Debbie making a noisy exit by slamming the door shut, and then heard it open again. 

        "How'd it go?" I turned around to find Alex looking at me with a satisfactory grin on his face. I sighed at sat down on my bed. "Well, it depends how you look at it." 

        "Well, what was so bad about it? Debbie stormed out of the room, so it must have been good." Alex sat down on his bed and faced me.

        I looked up at him, "How on earth is that good, and why would she storm out of the room?" I threw my hands up in the air, then mumbled, "She was the one being rude."

        "Okay, one, she doesn't get mad without a reason-" I gave him a look, "Unless she cares about that person." He grinned like he was a genius. "So," He rested his chin in his hands, "What happened?"

        I banged my head against my pillow, "We're friends again. Just friends." I said the word just left a bitter taste in my mouth.

        Alex laughed. I glared at him. "There's nothing funny going on Alex." I continued to glare daggers into him as he continued laughing. 

        "Oh Isaac," He tried controlling his laughter, "You like her, and you're afraid of being "just friends"!" He started laughing again until he realized that I was still glaring. "Wait," He sobered, "You don't realize it do you?" He raised his eyebrow humorously.

        "Realize what!" I stood up and through my hat onto the floor, "Why don't you just tell me already!" 

        Any humor that was in Alex's eyes had disappeared, "She likes you Isaac." He stood up and matched my eye level, "You guys are probably the blindest people on the earth." With that he walked out of the room, leaving me alone. Did he mean that Debbie liked me but thought I didn't like her? 

        No, surely she knows that I don't take just anyone girl out to see the sunset. Or did she? What if she didn't know? Should I have told her how I felt about her? What if she said she hated me? Because it sure looked like she did. Or was Alex right? Surely her brother would know.

        My head was swimming with questions.

Debbie

        As soon as I sat down in my bedroom I regretted leaving in such a huff. Why did I slam the door? Why did I run off so fast? Maybe due to the fact that Alex had his ear to the door...but mostly because of what I had happened to blab off. "Just friends." Why was I so stupid? Why did I have to act like I didn't have any feelings for him when I so obviously did? So what if others knew I had a crush on probably the most popular guy on the ranch. I had been teased before.

        What if he says outright that he doesn't like me at all? I'd probably die of embarrassment. I kicked myself mentally. I hadn't been at the ranch for a month, and I had already fallen for one of the cowhands. I couldn't have that. Not when I had worked so hard to hate cowboys and all. Nobody could ever find out that I was falling for Isaac. Not even Alex. Besides, as soon as the French learned where they belonged, we would be out of America and back home. Home in England.