Instead I lay there with my palm flat against his heartbeat and listened to it slow.
"Calvin." His voice was low, a little undone.
"Don't," I said quietly.
A beat. "Don't what?"
I didn't have an answer.Don't make this mean something. Don't look at me like that. Don't be someone I want to stay for.
His arm tightened around me.
And I let it.
Idiot,I told myself.
But I didn't move.
A while later,our sweat-slicked skin had dried. Brody lay with his head on a rolled up sweatshirt, and I lay with my head on his chest. One of his big paws held me close while the other toyed with the ends of my short hair.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything," he said.
I pressed a kiss to his sternum.
"What made you finally call it quits with Sassy? From what I gather, seems like you always kinda knew…"
I felt his chest tighten beneath my cheek. "It's not as selfless as it sounds. Guess it's probably easier to say I did it for them. But I did it for me, too."
He was quiet for a beat. If that's all I'd get, it'd be fine. Enough. Hell, there was plenty I hadn't told him. He owed me nothing, just because we'd had soul-shattering sex.
He'd stopped playing with my hair, and just when I thought he may have fallen asleep, he finally spoke again.
"My dad died. 'Bout a year ago."
The ache came out of nowhere, the burn of tears stinging my sinuses before I could stop them.
"He was my best friend. Luke's, too."
Luke's stricken expression when I'd mentioned his parents being busy flashed across my mind.
"But the way we loved him, worshipped the ground he walked on… it had nothin' on the way my mom looked at him. Like he was the fucking sun."
He was quiet for a second, and I held my breath.
"I want that. And Sassyneverlooked at me like that."
"But that's how she looked at Rhett," I guessed.
The words sat heavy, and I felt his nod against the top of my head.
"I'm sorry, Brody. For your dad, and for having to go through all of this with them."
"Thanks, viper." He gave a little squeeze. "Feels easier sayin' it to you."
A breathy laugh came out of me. "Pretty sure I'm lookin' at you like gum beneath my boot half the time. Don't quite think that's what you're aiming for."
He kissed my hair. "Nah, you're not so bad."
