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I flip him off over my shoulder. “Fuck off.”
“Nah.” The bed dips as Taylor climbs in before tugging me against his chest. We lay like that silently for a moment, listening to the sound of the shower in the bathroom. I settle into his warmth, feeling the tension in my muscles ease slightly. Tay's familiar touch and scent grounds me.
We may have dated on and off years ago, but this is what we've always been to each other. Comfort. A steady presence when shit gets too real to handle.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asks softly, his chin resting on my shoulder.
I scoff in response. “No.” A beat passes, and I continue anyway. “He's so fucking infuriating sometimes.”
Taylor hums in acknowledgement.
I grit my teeth as Logan’s words rattle around in my brain. We can't all look like Cowboy Harper. Or Devon. Or Taylor, Christian, and every other guy you've fucked on this tour. “Like, who does he think he is, judging me like that? We aren’t even together.”
“You're married.”
I twist my head to glare. “That doesn't mean shit and you know it.”
“Does to him,” Tay shrugs, reaching up to poke my cheek. “It seems like he really wants to work this out with you, so what's the deal? Why are you being a moody bitch?”
Growling, I flop onto my side. “Because marriage is a sham! It doesn't fucking mean anything and it comes with all kinds of expectations. What's the point?”
Taylor doesn't answer right away. He only tightens his arm and lets me breathe for a second, even as my chest heaves with anger.
“The point,” he says finally, “is probably that you love him.”
I bolt upright, yanking myself out of his hold. “I do not love him.”
“You obviously did enough to marry the guy.”
“I just wanted his virginity.”
“I don't believe that for a second,” Tay snorts, yanking the chain out of my shirt. “For one, you're not cruel. And two, why do you carry this around still?”
“Hey!” Snatching the wedding band, I stuff it back into my bra with heated cheeks. “I don't expect you to understand. You're a man. What do you lose if you marry Huck? Nothing, that's what. Women give up everything. Their last name, their money, their autonomy.”
He clicks his tongue in offense. “Who says I won't take Huck’s name? Maybe he'll take mine. Maybe we'll hyphenate. I mean, you know, if that ever happens. Not saying it will, because we're still in our twenties, and like, he's gone six months out of the year, and he's got his NFL contract to fulfill—” He cuts himself off when he meets my stare. “Okay, fine, I get your point. Marriage is fucking scary.”
“See?” I throw my hands up, climbing over him to pace the small kitchen because lying down feels impossible with the way my head is spinning. “It’s terrifying! It’s a trap. And don’t even get me started on how society treats a married woman versus a man. One gets praised for landing a live-in sex toy while the other gets stuck cooking dinner and popping out fuck trophies!”
Taylor sighs heavily, leaning back against the bunk as he watches me angrily braid my hair. “Salem—”
“And then there's medical care!” I continue, too heated to stop. “I need his fucking permission now to do anything with my reproductive organs. Tubes tied? Hysterectomy? Nope, not unless the husband says so. Do you know how fucked that is?”
“I think you're—”
“Women couldn't even get bank accounts without their husband’s consent until the seventies! It's an archaic, outdated, misogynistic, religious institution that marginalizes women and gives men more power, forcing us to rely on them, and I fucking hate it!”
My chest heaves by the time I finish, sweat beading across my hairline and the back of my neck.
“Jesus.” Taylor gazes at me wide-eyed, his lips parted . “Are you done yet?”
Deflating in an instant, I collapse onto the edge of the bed, all the fight draining out of me in one messy, exhausted exhale. “Yeah. I'm done.”
“Cool, because I have something to say.” Scooting closer, he throws his arms around my shoulders and pulls me into a tight hug. “Despite all of those things… You know you can still love him, right?”
“I don't want to,” I whisper, my stomach twisting at the thought.
Tay offers me a sad smile. “I get it. More than anyone here, probably. You know how many years I fucking wished I could get over Huck when he was away for college? Just forget about him and all the bullshit we went through in high school? I tormented him, for fucks sake. I hurt him.”
