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“Bex, what’s wrong?” She kept her voice quiet, as if, even in the face of my anger, she didn’t want the three figures standing behind her in the kitchen to realize our connection.
“What the fuck was that, Wren?” I flung my hand back toward the door, toward the moment where she dropped my hand with ease, as if it hadn’t ripped my heart out, “Did you think you could keep this a secret?”
“No, I -” she tried to answer, but I cut her off, too righteous in my anger.
“Are you embarrassed of me, is that it?”
“No, Bex, never -”
“Then what is it?” I asked, spreading my arms wide as if to give her the opportunity to point out every flaw she saw in me, “Why don’t you want them to know?”
“It’s not that I don’t want them to know,” she said, dropping her head. “I just wasn’t sure if you did. And I didn’t want anyone to give you trouble when you left me,” she admitted with a sad smile, the slight sheen to her eyes killing me.
“When I left you?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah, when you ended whatever is going on between us.”
I dropped her wrist, taking a step back, her words like a physical blow. “Have I fucked up so thoroughly with you that you’ll never believe I want you? That every part of you belongs to me?”
Wren didn’t say anything, her mouth parted as she tried to find the words to respond.
I realized I should’ve told her the truth that night in the pool, but I was too eager, kissing her instead of taking the time to appease every fear she had.
The truth was that it was easy to fall into relationships that didn’t matter, the ones that you knew wouldn’t last because either you or the other person would screw it up eventually. It was easy to brush Wren off as a sweet girl who somehow became friends with the wrong kind of people and would soon wise up and leave. If Wren belonged with them, she could all too easily belong with me, and that was something I wasn’t willing to accept. Until now.
“Wren, I love my job. It’s everything I’ve wanted, and I actually like working with the guys, surprisingly enough, since I don’t like most people. But even if I didn’t like the job, I would’ve taken Alex up on his offer. You know why?”
I waited for the shake of her head before continuing. “Because I wanted to be close to you. I’ve been fucking obsessed with you since I first saw you at that concert. I tried to tell you this that night in the pool.”
She nodded at the reminder. “You did tell me. You said you wanted to fuck me since you first saw me at the concert.”
I shook my head, smiling slightly as I corrected her, “You misunderstood me, lovely. I’vewantedyou since that night. I’ve wanted every part of you, wanted to make you mine, been obsessed with you since the concert. And when I saw you here, that night Alex blackmailed me to get me here, my obsession only got worse. I couldn’t see or think about anyone but you.”
“But you barely looked at me.”
“I ignored you,” I agreed. “I hoped you’d wise up and leave and let me have the first semblance of peace I’d felt in months. I hated you because I had no idea what to do with the feelings you forced me to feel. It would’ve been easier, I thought, for you to disappear than trying to maneuver around these feelings I had for you. But ignoring you didn’t work, threatening you didn’t work, trying to scare you away didn’t work. You were so fucking stubborn, and it made everything so much harder because I stopped wanting you to leave. But now you already seem to have a foot out the door, and I don’t understand why.”
“Bex, I -” Wren stumbled over her words, struggling with what to say for the first time since I’d known her. After a few moments, she finally blurted, “I thought you hated me! I mean, lately you’ve been nice, and it hasn’t seemed like it, but I guess somewhere, in the back of my mind, I can’t stop thinking that you still don’t think I belong here.”
I took a step closer to her, making sure her eyes were locked on mine as I told her, “I was wrong when I said you didn’t belong. You belong anywhere you want to, and you don’t need anyone’s permission.”
Wren’s lip wobbled at my admission, my apology for the cruel words I’d thrown at her over and over. All in an attempt to protect my heart from everything she made it feel.
“But,” I added with a smile as I leaned down, resting my forehead against hers, “I think you belonghere, specifically. Not because of Alex or Ames or Dev. You belong here withme. I’ll etch it onto my skin, confess my obsession with you in front of our friends, spend every day of my life protecting you and sleeping in your bed. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to you.”
“You don’t have to do any of that,” Wren whispered as she shook her head, her forehead rolling against mine.
“She already did one of those things,” Dev called out as he laughed, breaking the bubble Wren and I had created in the kitchen while our friends apparently stood in the background in rapt attention.
I flipped Dev off over Wren’s shoulder, keeping my attention on Wren for just a moment longer. “And I plan to do all the others, too,” I promised as I pressed my lips against Wren’s. “You’ll see, I’ll prove it to you.”
Wren frowned, putting her hands on her hips as her tone turned indignant. “And what about me? Am I not expected to do anything to prove my feelings for you?”
I blinked, cocking my head in confusion. “You don’t have anything to make up for.” I was the one who made her feel unsure of my affection, who tried to drive her away over and over.
“That’s not true! I gave as good as I got, which means I should be paying penance for our fighting too.” She crossed her arms, stubborn now that she had the idea in her head, and I knew it wasn’t worth arguing, not that I would argue against Wren’s insistence to prove she cared for me. I was too fucking selfish to deny myself the pleasure of her attention.
“Is that what you want?” I grinned mischievously at her as I asked, “You want to play another game, little bird?”
