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“Fuck, Laken. Would you stop?” He reaches for me again but I step back.
“Touch me. I dare you,” I challenge. “Let’s see how well my brother’s take to that,” I threaten.
“Laken.”
“We’re done, Thad. You’ve made that pretty clear by your actions here tonight. Besides, it was just sex. Right? So it shouldn’t be a big deal anyway when clearly you can get it elsewhere.”
This time when I walk away he lets me go. And despite the emotion boiling in my chest, threatening to melt me into a puddle on the floor, I manage to reach Chris’s car without shedding a single tear.
He’s already there waiting for me when I arrive. I quickly climb into the passenger seat and snap my seatbelt without so much as one word.
Even if he didn’t know me as well as he does, there’s no way Chris can’t tell something is wrong. I feel his eyes on the side of my face, assessing.
Whatever he sees there he clearly decides not to pry. Firing the engine to life, we’re speeding down Shallow Creek Road seconds later, the night air whipping across my face and hair through the open window.
“You wanna talk about it?” Chris asks when we’re less than a mile from the house.
“No.” My chin quivers and I have to take several deep breaths to keep my impending melt down at bay.
“Okay.” He decides not to push which only confirms how well my brother really does know me.
He’s always been good at knowing when to force me to open up and when to let me do it in my own time. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s always been my favorite. Because he understands this about me unlike anyone else.
Chris has no more than put the car in park next to the house when I hear the rumble of Thad’s truck as he pulls in behind us.
“Seriously!” I scream, throwing my hands in the air.
“Okay, so clearly whatever is going on has to do with him. You want me to tell him to fuck off?” he asks.
I consider that for a moment but decide the last thing I want to do is cause a rift between Chris and Thad.
“No, can you just go away?” I ask, which sounds a lot nicer than the statement seems.
“Going away.” He nods, pulling the keys from the ignition. “If you need me just holler.”
“Thank you.” I smile, remaining in the car a full minute after Chris has exited it and disappeared inside his apartment above the garage.
Taking a deep inhale, I let it out twice as slowly before finally finding the strength to grab the handle and push the door open. My feet haven’t even hit the ground when Thad comes into view.
“You don’t know when to leave well enough alone, do you?” I bite, climbing from the car before slamming the door closed.
“Why the fuck did you take off like that?” he growls, taking a commanding step toward me.
“Excuse me?” I snap back just as angrily.
“You started this. This was your idea. I told you I couldn’t give you more than sex. No strings. No attachments. That’s what we agreed to.”
“So this ismyfault?” I give him a look of sheer disbelief before pushing past him toward the barn.
“It is your fault.” He jogs ahead of me and cuts me off, stepping directly into my path. “I warned you but you just wouldn’t listen.”
“Well now that we’ve got that covered, can you move out of my way, please?” I grind through my teeth.
“No.” He stands firm.
“No?” I snarl, cocking my head to the side.
“Not until we hash this shit out.”
