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With a deep breath, Laney begins, “We’re crossing lines. Right?”
“Right.”
“I mean, for one, I work for you.”
I grin. “Not for much longer, though.”
Laney pulls on a lock of my hair. “As long as you stop being so risky, not much longer. You’re right.”
My heart falls at our words.
An ending to our working relationship has been promised from the beginning. But I’m not sure I can handlenot seeing her all day every day, not having her at my beck and call. Not because I need her to serve me, not at all.
I’ve gotten terribly used to having her close.
While I’ve been using physical crutches, she’s been my crutch for all my emotions. I’ve leaned on her for all my strength.
Perhaps that’s a good reason to some that we should part ways. Because I have become reliant.
However, I want to be all of those things for her. Now that I’m well, I can. I can pick her up when she falls. No matter what, no matter how.
“And Mason…” My friend’s name is a mere whisper.
I lean my face toward hers, nudging her nose with mine. “Don’t think about him.”
“He’s your best friend, Nate. And my–”
“Don’t say it.” I don’t want to think about their previous relationship. I’ve already gone through it so many times, like a stone turned over in my hand until I decided to fling it across the surface of the lake, letting it skip into the distance. “You need to think about whatyouwant. Not him. Not me.”
Laney giggles. “Well, I hope you wantme.”
“Of course I do. But I think that’s obvious at this point.” I take her hand in mine, lift it above us on the bed, then kiss the inside of her elbow.
Quiet falls over Laney for a long time. I don’t dare interrupt.
Who knows what my interfering will do to her thought process? It could hurt just as much as it could help.
“I want you too.”
I can’t resist a big grin.
She shakes her head. “But I think that want has to remain here.”
Aw, fuck.
“At the cabin. You know, far away from our actual life.”
I take our interlaced hands, put them to my chest. “Is this notactuallife?”
“It’s different, isn’t it? A little bit?”
I frown. “Um, I guess.”
“I just think it’s easy to decide here that what’s between is easy. When our real everyday lives are so far away.” Laney’s expression is taut.
I don’t get the impression this is easy for her. Although that’s not much of a consolation.
“Do you understand what I mean?”
