Rachel wants to be my girl after all

“Andrew?” Rachel asks, sounding tentative.

“Yeah, baby?”

“I realized—when you said you were dating that girl—I felt really jealous,” Rachel confesses. “I wanted you—I felt like she had something that should be mine. That sounds silly, but it’s how I felt. So—I wanted to take the chance—if you’re still interested—would you still be interested in being my boyfriend?”

I heave a mental sigh, careful to keep from doing so out loud. I should have seen this coming. I really should have. What do I say? Rachel’s incredible, and she’d be a wonderful girlfriend, but—Heather. Alyssa’s told me about Heather. I can’t go back home and say, “Yeah, I knew you wanted to date me, but I decided to date someone else instead,” can I? I could do that to a lot of girls, but not to Heather—right? Can I tell Rachel that? Or should I just say it’s too soon after Noelle hurt me?

Is there another option?