Sink or Swim✓ (Teen Romance)

Chapter Fifteen

            "Do you want the M&M's?" I ask, holding them out to him.  "I'm don't like them."

            "Oh sorry, I didn't know."  Alex takes the candy, looking a little embarrassed.  I should have just kept the stupid things.

            "That's alright."  I shift back on my heels.  "I guess I'll let you go then."

            I have barely spoken the words when Alex turns and sprint-walks in the opposite direction.  I roll my eyes and turn away, only to see Elliot standing a few feet to my left.  His lips are strained into a tight line and his arms are crossed tightly over his bare chest.  Once I get past his muscular stomach, I remind myself that he looks furious.

            I swallow.  Is he angry at me?

            Before I can walk toward him, Elliot jerks his chin toward a set of double doors.  Then, he whips around and disappears before I have a chance to catch up.  I nervously follow, dragging my feet across the wet cement. 

            "Elliot?" I call once I step through the doors.  I am surrounded by a long white hallway, stretching forever in both directions.

            I see him immediately.  He is curled up a few feet away with his back pressed to the wall and his knees tucked under his chin.  He wears nothing but his orange and black jammers.  I glance down at my own outfit, wishing I had thought to bring a shirt.  My racing suit looks much less appealing than his, as though the designers wanted to make me look even more flat-chested than usual.  For a moment, I wonder if perhaps that's why he's breaking up with me.

            "Are you mad at me?" I ask, even though I can already tell he is.

            He finally looks up, his steel blue eyes piercing mine.  He sighs, but the cold look remains.  I decide he's not going to speak, so I edge closer and sit down beside him, leaving only enough room so that we don't touch.  The wall feels cold against my bare spine, and I can feel my wet suit seeping into the carpet.

            "You don't have to do the whole speech," I say, dropping Alex's goodie bag to the spot beside me.  "If you want to stop going out with me, you can just say so."

            Elliot stares at me, his eyes blank.  His face has suddenly turned to stone, revealing nothing.  Then, his eyebrows furrow slightly, as though I am a complicated riddle he can't quite figure out.

            When the silence becomes unbearable, I start to stand.  "I'm just going to accept that as a break-up and go.  I need to go eat before my next event."

            Elliot grabs my arm and pulls me back down.  This time, I stumble slightly and bump my shoulder against his chest.  His bareness suddenly makes me blush, despite the situation.

            "I'm not breaking up with you.  At least, I don't want to."  He speaks softly, his hand still lingering on my arm.

            "Oh."  I don't know what to say.  In fact, I am not quite sure what he is saying.

            "Can you be honest with me for a second?" asks Elliot.

            I hesitantly nod, still not sure where he's going with this.

            "Are you embarrassed of me?"  He bites down on his bottom lip, eyes widening as he waits for my reply.  Were the question not so absurd, I would be heartbroken by the wounded expression upon his face.