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“What?” I bit out before realizing that I wasn’t mad at Cree. “Sorry, man.” I took in a deep breath trying to calm my irritation. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“Maybe you need another cigarette,” he joked.
“After that shit, I need some weed,” I joked back.
After a heartbeat of silence, he said, “So, you and Verity…”
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “We finally came to an agreement last night.”
“And?” he asked, a huge smile on his face.
“She’s mine,” I stated simply. “We’re officially together, and she’s following me after graduation.”
Cree’s brown eyes widened. “No way? Really?”
“If I thought that she’d say yes, I would propose to her before we got back to campus,” I told him honestly. “I mean, it’s been two years, and everything that I know about her tells me that she’s perfect for me. Why in the hell do I need to wait?”
“Because we’re only in our early twenties and have our whole lives ahead of us?” he posed.
“I’ve already wasted two years of my life without her, Cree,” I reminded him. “I’m not looking to miss any more time with her.”
Cree grinned before slapping his hand on my shoulder. “I’m happy for you, man. I really am.”
“Yeah, so am I,” I chuckled. “Fuck, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love her.”
Walking past the pool, Cree asked, “So, what do you make of what just happened back there?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to know, Cree. Whatever Sarah and Kevin are about, I don’t want to fucking know.” I looked over his way. “And if Kevin so much as suggests ‘broadening his horizons’ with Verity, I’ll fucking kill him.”
“C’mon, you know Verity’s not like that,” he said, trying to calm me down.
“I don’t care,” I replied truthfully. “I made my position clear last night, so if he decides to still go after a girl that’s spoken for, then he deserves to get his ass kicked.”
Cree dropped his cigarette, then stomped it out. “Yeah, well…he got an eyeful of what Lulee looks like last night,” he said regretfully.
I pinched my cigarette out, then reached down to pick up Cree’s discarded butt. Tossing them both in the nearby trash can, I said, “You need to talk to her about it, Cree.”
“I know,” he grumbled. “It’s just…I’d rather wait until we’re both not hungover as shit.”
“Look, I get that,” I told him. “I get that, but you can’t keep letting her pull you into things that you’re not comfortable with, Cree.” I looked at him seriously. “I understand all about wanting to keep your woman happy, especially in the bedroom, but don’t let her take you guys somewhere that you can’t come back from, dude. Don’t lose her because you weren’t honest with her.”
“Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “I plan on talking to her, I really do. I just…like I said, I’d rather do it without this goddamn headache.”
Before we could say anything more, Sarah and Trevor were walking back from the trail, and she was still eyeing us like she was irresistible or something. Granted, to most guys, she probably was. However, most guys hadn’t been pining for Verity Mercer for over two fucking years. Yeah, no way was I going to risk what I had with Verity for any-damn-body, even Cree.
“Yeah, I think it’s time to go check on the girls,” Cree muttered, regret still showing in his bloodshot eyes.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” I agreed.
As if the Hounds of Hell were nipping at our heels, we headed into the cabin, relieved to see our girls laughing on the couch. More than relieved, in fact.
Chapter 20
Verity~
Lunch had been awkward, but that could have been for a lot of different reasons. Lulee and Cree had still felt hungover, so they hadn’t contributed much to the conversation, forcing the rest of us to keep up the banal chitchat. Also, Sarah had been sandwiched in between Kevin and Trevor, and it’d been easy to see that Saint and Cree hadn’t been lying about finding them together along the trail, though I hadn’t thought they were lying to begin with.
At any rate, Cree and Lulee had immediately left after thanking the Clarks for lunch, and I could only hope that they’d left to work their shit out. While Lulee was reckless, she wasn’t stupid enough to lose Cree over what happened last night, so I could only hope that an apology would fix whatever was off with them.
