Spark Read Online Free Page B

softly, staring at me intently.
    Aw, shit .
    Before I can blink, my cheeks blaze. I bet I’m glowing like the Queen’s birthday bonfire. The timing of the movie is impeccable, lighting up the room. Yeah, he would have noticed alright. I take the empty bowl from his hand, and put it with mine on the coffee table. I use this time to think of what to say. And to breathe.
    “I did. Thanks … but you didn’t have to, you know. You can barely afford to pay electricity,” I say, pretending to shiver under the blanket.
    I don’t even get a measly chuckle out of him. I thought that was kind of funny.
    “I’ve wanted to for a while now.” His voice is quiet, hesitant.
    “Huh?” I frown. Please don’t let that mean what I think it means .
    “Buy you flowers.”
    “But why?” I know why, but I couldn’t stop the words from coming out. At least, I think I know. Jon takes my closest hand in both of his, and stares longingly into my eyes.
    “Because, Eevie,” he pauses, taking in a deep breath, “I have feelings for you.”
    My mouth drops open. He said it. My best friend, has feelings for me? My brain freezes up as I try to process his admission. Like Cassie said, friends don’t buy each other flowers. Cassie knew it, Crystal had her suspicions, but now it feels like everyone else was in on a joke, and I’m the only one who didn’t get the punch line. But this is not a joke. This shit is serious, and I’m not laughing.
    How long has he felt this way? Did I do something to lead him on?
    I’m not sure how much time passes before he interrupts me.
    “Say something,” Jon says softly. His eyes nervously bore into me, desperate for my thoughts.
    “I … I don’t know what to say.”
    Things are perfect just as they are now. Why would he risk changing that? My hand is still in his. I’m afraid to take it away. “What kind of feelings, Jon?” I need to know how deep these feelings are. Is it just a crush, or something more?
    Jon draws in another deep breath. “I think … I think I’m in love with you.”
    Fuck! He did not just say that. No. No. No. No. No.
    I gasp, and bury my head in my hands. A flood of emotion washes over me, settling into my bones.
    What am I supposed to say to that? Of course I care for Jon, and I do love him, but clearly not in the same way he feels for me. But then I feel betrayed. He’s been hiding this from me.
    I breathe in, and try to calm myself, silently telling my heart to calm the fuck down. My eyes are watering, and a tear threatens to roll down my cheek. I lower my hands, and gaze into his eyes. His face is pasty and pale, as if every last drop of colour has been drained from it.
    All this time. Has he been secretly checking me out? Imagining doing things to me?
    “How long have you felt this way?” I whisper, trying to prepare myself for what he says next.
    Jon runs his hand through his hair, scratching at the back of his scalp. “I’ve always had a thing for you.”
    Always? Fuck! I must have been blind not to see it .
    “Spending so much time together, I guess it’s finally caught up with me. It’s stronger than I’d thought and I just can’t keep these feelings to myself anymore. It’s too … difficult,” he says, almost choking on his last word.
    I swing my legs off the couch, untangling the blanket. I slump over, supporting my head in my hands.
    “I just don’t get it. We’re friends. How can you feel like this?” The tone in my voice is gruff, unshed tears choking me. I take in shallow breaths, and turn to him, the light from the TV bouncing off his tortured face.
    “I’ve tried to ignore it … believe me, I’ve tried, but the way I feel about you … it consumes me. When I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you. Like, all the time. What you do to me…” He lets out a loud sigh. “There’s no one like you Eevie. No one I know.”
    His words render me speechless, rivalling some of the many declarations of love I’ve read about. But I never