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HUUULK SMAAASH!
I’m shaken out of my Marvel reverie when Rainey clears her throat and glares at me.
“Is that why you’re here, Brody?” she counters. “Looking for a ‘quick fuck’?”
“I’m here with Drew. He claimed he needed a wingman to hook up with one of the bartenders. Clearly, that was just a ruse. Or maybe a happy coincidence.”
She sighs. “Well, if it still matters, I wouldn’t have gone through with it. The only reason I’m here is because Devyn wouldn’t give up. I was planning on having a drink or two then faking a headache so I could go home and binge on Netflix.”
Hell, yeah, it still matters. I keep that thought to myself for now though.
“This whole setup thing may be my fault,” I admit. “I haven’t been the easiest person to be around lately. They’re probably sick of dealing with me.”
Her red lips turn up in the corners. “I’ve been a bit difficult lately, too. And when I say difficult, I mean bitchy.”
I laugh. Rainey’s never one to mince words.
She smiles. “I missed this.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Missed what?”
“Talking to you. Looking at you. Laughing with you. Hell, I’ve missed everything about you, Brody.”
I don’t say anything...I just gaze into those chestnut eyes of hers. Funny thing is that neither one of us seems bothered by the silence. It’s comfortable. That’s a good thing, right?
After a minute or so, I finally speak. “I’ve missed you, too, sweetheart.”
She swallows hard. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” I nod.
“Are you seeing anyone?” Rainey chews on her bottom lip, waiting for my response.
“Not unless you count my right hand. That’s been seeing a lot of action. So much so, that sometimes Lefty needs to pinch-hit.”
Her laughter is musical. “Oh, my God, Brody, only you would bring up masturbation at a time like this.”
I shrug, not ashamed in the least. “I’m just being truthful.”
Her expression sobers. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said. Like, it’s all I seem to think about.”
I wince. “About that...I’ve been wanting to apologize for some of the things I said that morning. I was really angry...and frustrated, so I said some pretty dickish things that I didn’t mean.”
“It was completely warranted, Brody. And it forced me to face the ugly truth head on. I should be the one apologizing.”
“What truth?”
She gulps. “That I was being a coward. You see, I’m in love with this big, goofy man-child and I didn’t have the balls to tell him, so he walked away from me—rightfully so. He thought I didn’t love him or trust him enough and that’s so far from the truth, it’s scary. I let my bitterness from my past affect the present. I unfairly made assumptions about this guy, when in fact, he was nothing like those assholes who treated me poorly.
“I don’t know when it happened, but at some point, I realized that he made me happier than I’ve ever been in my life. That became even more apparent when suddenly, he was no longer in my world. I’ve been a fucking wreck without him, Brody. I thought ending things before my heart became too invested would save me from this pain. What I didn’t know, was that my heart was already too invested.”
I exhale in relief. Fuck, that feels good to hear.
“That’s funny you say that, because there’s a certain ginger that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. Both heads, actually. She’s kind of ruined me for any other woman. I think about her no less than fifty-five thousand times a day. Her tits twice that.”
She laughs with tears in her eyes. “I love you, Brody Harris. I’m so fucking in love with you and I’m so sorry I couldn’t admit that two months ago.”
I can’t torture myself—or her—anymore, so I round the table and cage her in against it. “Say it again.”
