Page 126 of Forever Relentless

I definitely wasn’t going to fuck with her when I was pretty sure her younger brother might actually kill me. What I’d started with him and Hadley was more important than whether or not Briar and I hooked up.

I leaned my head back against the headrest. No, it wasn’t. I really wanted something with her. Not just a hookup — she was under my skin. I don’t even know how she got there.

Actually, I did know how she got there. She was smart enough to see through bullshit, stubborn enough to call it out, and brave enough to stand in front of you when she did. When most people would look away, Briar faked her credentials to get a job in the one place she resented most. How could I not admire the balls that took? How could I not want to know more, or everything, about her?

But she was already risking enough. She didn’t need to risk anymore.

Unless it was me in bed with her. I was quite happy for her to take a risk on that, and I really needed her to choose a side, hopefully the side of the bed with me next to her.

“Fuck.” I watched her in the rearview. Those yoga pants showed off her ass really well. “If she ever finds out, you can explain, and she’ll understand why you didn’t tell her,” I muttered to myself. “She’ll understand,” I convinced myself.

She would respect me more when she learned that I was keeping her out of it to protect her. I also believed it, which was either reassuring or the problem. Or that’s what I told myself.

But when she got to the door of the gym, she turned back to look at the car and flipped the finger, I couldn’t help but smile.

She was so different from the girl she played on the field. She was fiery, flirty, and fun — the three f’s.

I started the car and headed back to campus.

My phone pinged, and I glanced at the screen. Had she texted me?

No.

I’d forgotten to reply to an earlier message.

I pulled over.

Me: Sorry, got held up with something

Unknown: You reached out to me asshole

I laughed. Abrasive males seemed to be the go-to for today.

Me: I’d prefer to meet

Unknown: Not interested

Me: You will be

I waited.

Five minutes later.

Unknown: See you at 9

I glanced at the time. Bastard. I’d be cutting it close. There was no way I could go home and change.

I signaled, did a three-point turn, and headed north. Hopefully, I’d make good time and be able to stop and eat something. I was fucking starving.

I stopped at the diner that was now becoming a regular spot.

I ordered a somewhat healthy meal, and in the bathroom, I did my best to have a stand-up wash. No one was more conscious than I was that I stank! I’d been in the car with me for an hour.

Feeling a bit better, I changed into a worn but not sweated-through T-shirt and ran my fingers through my hair. It was a mess, but it would do.

After my dinner, I got in the car and made the rest of the drive in silence.

I had answered Dustin’s text to remind me to fill the tank; I’d have done that anyway. I wasn’t a complete dick.