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Since teasing her was my favorite thing in the world to do, I said, “You should go to the gym with me occasionally then.”
Her head whipped around and she narrowed her eyes at me.
“I’ve been going to the gym recently,” she said defensively.
That was a lie and we both knew it. She hadn’t been going to the gym. She’d been going to the parking lot that the gym was in, which subsequently also housed a fuckin’ Taco Bell.
I looked Greer up and down, clearly finding her lacking. “You should try going inside.”
Her mouth all but fell open. “What?”
I grinned wickedly at her.
I also heard Sunny say something underneath his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “God help you.”
It was Sara’s peal of laughter that had my heart lifting.
“I’m so glad to see that now that y’all are actually dating, like I always knew you should, you can still act exactly the same.” Sara smiled.
It was the first genuine smile I’d seen on her face since she and Sunny had run into each other in town.
I moved past Greer and wrapped my friend in a hug, but only after she opened her arms to me to indicate she was okay with it.
I hugged her tight, burying my face into the top of her head. The familiar smell of grapes and lemon sent me back to a time when we were in high school and I spent half my time with my arm around her and the other half playing baseball.
“I’m so sorry, Sara,” I said softly. “I wish I had known. I’d like to think that I could have helped you through that experience.”
I would help now.
Or Kobe would.
I would make this all right.
I would make her feel safer in this world.
I would do everything in my power to make sure that she went to bed at night knowing the person that assaulted her was rotting in the ground.
She squeezed me harder. “This. This is helping.”
Greer slid her tiny butt into the middle of our hug, and Sara laughed.
Her eyes met mine and she said, “Six months ago you would’ve lost your shit.”
“Six months ago I wasn’t in love with her,” I replied.
Everyone froze, including me.
“Uh,” Sunny said. “I take it you never said that before?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. “Uhh…”
Greer laughed. “I love you, too, I guess.”
And that was that.
I’d said, “I love you.”
She’d said it back.
Sara was there.
We were content.
CHAPTER 17
After some soul-searching (masturbating), I found out that everything would be okay.
-text from Greer to Davis
DAVIS
“I can stay by myself, Kyle.”
Jesus. She only pulled the “Kyle” out when she was super-duper mad.
“I know you can stay by yourself,” I said carefully. “What my problem is, is that there was a man that stole your truck. Put it back. Was in your house without either you or me knowing it. And we haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since. I know you’re more than capable of watching over yourself. I just…”
I couldn’t explain it.
Just the thought of her staying behind while I was gone for days was terrifying to me.
“Sara…” Greer started, but I was already shaking my head. “You can’t be there with her. I know you want to be, and I know she’d want you to be. But you can’t do it. One, she has no security. Two, you two don’t know how to protect yourselves. Three, no.”
Greer narrowed her eyes, but I amended my earlier statement before she could start.
“It’s not that you or she couldn’t protect yourselves. It’s just that she’s already going through…” I left what she was going through unsaid. “Just, don’t. Let’s not do it.”
She threw up her hands. “All of Gator Bait is busy. All of your guys are busy. And you yourself have a freakin’ client you need to protect. This,” she gestured toward me, “will have to do.”
“Come with me,” I blurted.
That wasn’t what I’d expected to come out of my mouth.
But it wasn’t surprising.
I knew I loved her.
I’d said the words two nights ago, yet hadn’t repeated them.
I was still trying to make sense of the words in my brain.
And luckily, she hadn’t pushed me to say it again or said them back herself. It was as if she was still trying to process the idea of her loving me back, too.
“You’re going on a fishing trip,” she rolled her eyes then. “I can’t just go with you.”
I grinned. “You could act like you’re part of Aodhan’s crew.”
“But I’m not part of his crew,” she pointed out.
I called up Aodhan in the next second. “If I bring Greer with me, can you act like she’s a crew hand or something? I don’t want her to stay here by herself, and everyone else is busy.”
Aodhan chuckled before saying, “I can put her to work. My office needs cleaning.”
