Page 105 of The Challenge

Forgive me—for everything, even though I don’t deserve it.

“That’s not really a challenge,” I argued.

“Sure, it is. It requires you to let go of the resentment I caused with that phone call the other night. I know it’s still weighing on you. That’s the last thing you need on top of everything else right now. But this challenge extends to everything I’ve ever done—turning you down when you were a teenager, acting like a dick when you first got here. And, yes, scolding you the other night for doing something nice for my daughter. I’m asking you to let it all go and forgive me. Or at least try. I want to start fresh.”

I looked down again at the note. “Yeah, of course the phone call has been weighing on me because nothing was resolved,” I admitted. “I’m not upset because you warned me not to overdo it with Effie. I think I might be upset because I fear you’re right, that maybe I do need to back off a little when it comes to her.” My eyes met his. “But that also means backing off when it comes to you, doesn’t it?” I hesitated. “The company has been pressuring me to come back to Chicago. I feel like I don’t know what’s going to happen from one day to the next, especially with Mom. It’s all very scary.”

Evan’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t realize you’d been under additional pressure from work.”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “So it’s been a rough week for more than one reason.”

He took a seat at the table next to me and leaned his head on my shoulder. “No matter what you decide is best, Chloe, I need you to know that I’ll always be here for you. You feel like you don’t have a family here in Dry River anymore. But you do. You have Effie and me, and you always will. That’s independent of the status of our personal relationship.”

While his promise was endearing, it also created more unsettling questions. I took a breath. “So what you’re saying is, if I leave and move back to Chicago, then decide to come back here only to find you remarried, you’re gonna let me stay with you like family? I’m certain your new wife won’t appreciate that.”

“New wife? Well, now you’re just making up stories.”

“You don’t think that will happen someday? A man like you won’t stay single forever, Evan.”

“I have no interest in getting remarried, but that’s beside the point.”

So many emotions rose to the surface, and I needed to be brutally honest. “My feelings for you will always be raw and complicated. They always have been. Now that we’ve had a sexual relationship, Evan, I don’t know that I could depend on you to replace my family. I don’t see you the same way I see a family member. My heart won’t let me. And anything going on with you personally will always affect me in a way it wouldn’t if you were merely my brother.”

I reached out to rub his chin scruff. “But in answer to your challenge… I will forgive you for yucking my yum over Effie’s bedroom. And I forgive you for rejecting me back in the day, too, because in retrospect, you were right about everything.”

He kissed me on the forehead and spoke softly against it. “Thank you.”

“That was a weak challenge, by the way.”

“Not to me, it wasn’t. I’ve felt like shit ever since the other night. I needed to know you forgive me.” He stood.

“Where are you going?” I sat straighter.

“To make you dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

He stopped and turned around. “You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Tell me what I can do for you, then. We still have time before I have to pick up Effie, and I want to make the most of it.”

How was I supposed to tell him I wanted him between my legs without sounding cheap? We’d just had a deep conversation, but all I could think about was sex.

The longer I said nothing, the longer he looked into my eyes. Somehow, he must’ve sensed the need in me.

“Come…” He reached out his hand. I took it and followed him into the living room.

“Lie back,” he commanded as I fell onto the sofa.

Evan got down on his knees. He slid my body close, so my ass was at the edge of the couch. No sooner than I could blink, he’d pulled my leggings down, followed by my panties.

He licked his fingers before pushing them inside of me, causing my muscles to tighten.

“Sit back and relax, baby. I’ve got you.”

His eyes locked with mine as he moved his fingers in and out. And while I wished it were his cock, there was something uniquely erotic about this. He circled the thumb of his opposite hand around my clit. A moment later, he licked his lips before pulling his fingers out of my now drenched opening. My clit throbbed as I waited for his next move.