Page 10 of Forever After Fall

“You say that like she’s not Ford’s aunt. Fannie’s sister. Hazel’s best friend.” I list all the reasons I had to stop myself from touching her. There’s probably a dozen more if I had a few more minutes to recount them.

“She might have started that way, but she’s been more to you than that for a long while.” Bo gives me a sympathetic look that only serves to make me more self-conscious.

“She hasn’t.” I cut him off at the pass.

His lips collapse into a thin line as the skepticism rolls over his face.

“Then all the more reason for you not to run. Get some air. Take a shot of whiskey,” Bo instructs, pulling the flask out of his jacket and handing it to me. “Steel your fucking balls and go back in there like nothing happened.”

“Is that how you handle these things?” I stare at the flask for a long moment before I take it and twirl the cap free. “Just pretend like nothing happened?”

“More or less.” He shrugs.

I take a long swallow. I’m doomed. I don’t even know if I can pretend. Let alone if I can stand the look I’m bound to see on Bristol’s face.

“And that works?” I ask as the whiskey burns its way down my throat.

Bo’s a lot more liberal with where he draws the line than I am and gets himself into trouble with women more often than he’d like to admit. I’d rather avoid it with every last fiber of my being. I like structure. Clear boundaries and agreements. No strings. No hurt feelings. I don’t have more to offer than that.

“Most of the time.” I get another tilt of his shoulder that tells me something’s on his mind.

“Most?” I ask, giving him the opening he needs if he wants to talk about it.

“Most,” he confirms. “I think it’ll work for you tonight, and that’s all that matters.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we can discuss an exit strategy.”

I hand the flask back to him and work on my tie, doing my best to put it back in place before I tuck my shirt back in.

“She really did a number on you. I’m surprised you survived it.” He smirks, and I try not to echo it. But a flash of her making muted little sounds for me before she marveled at the size of my dick plays on an unbidden loop in my head.

“She thought I was Jasper.” I remind myself as much as him.

I need to think unsexy thoughts before I go back in. I try the kind of stuff I normally would discuss when I’m talking to her. School pickup times. Practice schedules for Ford’s football team. The grocery list. The broken latch on her dryer she needed me to fix.

I can do this.

“You got this, champ!” Bo slaps my shoulder in encouragement before I head for the door, and I throw one last glare his way before I make my way back into the gauntlet.

FIVE

Bristol

“Hey! Bristol!” I hear Jasper’s voice as I make a beeline for the restroom. I need to freshen up my makeup and see if the blush of my embarrassment has abated at all. Then I need to text Marlowe and beg her not to say anything to anyone. But there’s no avoiding Jasper.

I whirl around and paste a smile on my face.

“Jasper!”

“You went too far down the hall. It’s back here.” He catches up with me and lowers his voice.

“Oh, uh. Yeah. I… uh… I was just heading to the restroom to fix my makeup.”

He frowns at my excuse, studying my face.

“You look beautiful just the way you are. You don’t need to fix anything.” His grin slices through my heart, and it drops to the floor when his lips meet mine in a kiss.