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I chuckled at his response and shook my head. He had no idea what he was in for.Gilmore Girlswas at the top of the list for Katie’s comfort show, but given the circumstances, it was also a reason for me to worry about how she was really doing.
“How’s it going over there?” I asked Bryson and looked up from my screen.
He was shirtless and leaned back in my desk chair. He stretched his arms out, and the muscles in his back flexed. “I’m almost done. Just gotta write a conclusion.”
“What for?” I walked over to the desk and peered over his shoulder.
“It’s a business proposal for one of my classes,” he explained.
It was the first time Bryson actually sounded serious about something other than fucking, women, or a combination of both. It was kind of hot.
I nodded and turned to walk back to my scrolling position on the bed. He grabbed my hand and continued to stare at the screen.
“Give me a kiss,” he prompted and turned so I could place my mouth on his. He smiled against my kiss and tugged on my bottom lip.
“Finish your paper,” I ordered playfully and retreated to the other side of the room.
It was nice being with him and spending time together doing something normal like homework. Things had shifted a little bit since the incident at The Attic. Somehow conversation came a little easier, and he was more flirty when we were alone. I didn’t filter as much when I talked to him, either. I determined that must be what happened when you already decided that you hated someone for who they were but not for what they could do for you in bed.
I laughed and filed that one away for an inspirational quote to lay on Katie. It was up there with my Fun Dip line from the costume store that day Jaxon fixed my car.
And just like that, I was back in the headspace that revolved around Jaxon. I scrolled through our text thread and stared at the most recent exchange of messages. It was weird to see them labeled under a date that was so long ago. It wouldn’t be hard just to shoot him a text, but his request for space stopped me. It sucked feeling ignored, and it hurt that we got here because of what he wanted.
I thought back to his exact words from that night.
It’s for the best. Now nothing has to change. If we had gone through with it, you would hate me in the morning.
I wanted to shout bullshit from the roof of my apartment building and plaster it across the sky so he could see it from Falcon’s Point or wherever he was right now. He lied, andeverythinghad changed.
“Done!” Bryson exclaimed and spun around in the chair. “Feel like hot tubbin’?”
“Hot tubbin’?” I repeated. He was referring to the hot tub back at Falcon’s Point.
“Yeah,” he said, throwing his hoodie over his bare chest. “Grab your suit.”
“Okay,” I stammered and did as I was told. I packed a bag and poked my head into Katie’s bedroom to let her know I was leaving.
Bryson leaned in behind me and directed his attention to Connor. Katie scowled at the sight of him halfway into her room. I bit my lip from laughing and felt relieved to see a glimpse of Sassy Katie. It had been a while since anyone saw her.
“You have a key?” Bryson asked.
“Yeah, I’m good, man,” Connor mumbled.
“So it’s just Jared who is an idiot.” Bryson grinned, and Connor laughed. Bryson turned his face toward me. “You ready?”
“Yeah,” I answered half-heartedly and followed him downstairs to the parking lot.
Chapter41
Jaxon
February 2016
Burgers at Beckett’swent exactly how I anticipated it too.
Layla and I stayed there for a little while, and each ordered two drinks. I asked her about her major and what year she was at BG. She asked me where I was from, and when I told her North Carolina, that spun the usual conversation about my family. I gave her the general rundown of how both of my parents owned businesses, and I left out everything else.
When she reached for the check and offered to buy my drinks, I asked her if she wanted to come back to my place to watch a movie or something. We both knew what I meant by that. From there, she drove us back to Falcon’s Point, and no sooner than my bedroom door was shut she made a move on me.
