Chapter 68\u00a0<\/p>\n
10%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s voice in my head was a mixture of disappointment and anger. She was right, of course. I did want to go to lunch with him. I\u2019d been wanting to go places with Tristan for most of my life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that was exactly the problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan turned like he was going to leave, accepting my rejection with the same quiet grace he brought to everything else. But then he paused at the threshold and turned back around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAthena,\u201d he said, and my name sounded different in his mouth than it had that morning. More serious, more weighted with meaning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened. Was he going to bring up the kiss? Was this the conversation I\u2019d been dreading all\u00a0<\/p>\n
day?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d I raised my face from the papers I\u2019d been pretending to study and met his eyes directly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy\u2026\u201d I could see him wrestling with himself, debating whether to ask whatever question was on his mind. For a moment, I thought he\u2019d decided against it and was going to leave after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, he walked fully into my office and settled into the chair across from my desk \u2013 the one meant for clients and important visitors. He placed his hands on both armrests and leaned forward slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you avoiding me?\u201d he asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The question left me completely speechless. My mouth opened and closed a few times before I managed to form actual words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d I said weakly, which was partially true and mostly a stalling tactic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you leave this morning without telling me? You\u2019re always ready to ride to work together, but today you were gone when I came out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice was gentle but direct, cutting right through any pretense I might have tried to maintain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I scrambled for an answer that wasn\u2019t a complete lie. \u201cI didn\u2019t leave because I was trying to avoid you. I left because I\u2019m tired of feeling like I can\u2019t do anything on my own.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t entirely false. Part of me did want more independence, more proof that I could function as my own person instead of always needing protection and guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:38 Sat, Jan 30\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 68\u00a0<\/p>\n
I saw his expression soften immediately, understanding replacing suspicion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
10%\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI get that, he said, nodding slowly. \u201cWe just want to be there for you. Don\u2019t push us away when we\u2019re only trying to help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sincerity in his voice made guilt settle in my stomach like a stone. He was being completely genuine, worried about my wellbeing and our friendship, while was sitting here lying about my motivations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright,\u201d I said, making a decision. \u201cHow about we go to Orion\u2019s place after work? I haven\u2019t seen enough of\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lily and Liam lately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOr,\u201d he said, standing up with a small smile, \u201chow about we go grab lunch right now? I\u2019m hungry, and I really don\u2019t like eating alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t need to say anything else. The simple honesty of his request, combined with the way he was looking at me \u2013 hopeful but not pushy, friendly but not demanding \u2013 broke down my remaining resistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood up, walked around my desk, and took his hand, tugging him toward the door. \u201cCome on then, before I change my mind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His fingers were warm and slightly rough. When he squeezed gently, I felt that familiar electric current that always seemed to run between us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The one only I notice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, Claire said with deep satisfaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere do you want to go?\u201d I asked as we stepped outside into the afternoon sunshine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Tristan said, pulling on his sunglasses. \u201cI just wanted to spend some time with you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 68 Chapter 68\u00a0 10%\u00a0 Claire\u2019s voice in my head was a mixture […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}