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"That's not how it is." He held up his hands, palms forward, the panicked look in his eyes telling her everything she needed to know.
This is what Catfish Creek did to people. It made them do stupid shit over and over and over again until all that was left of them was a half crazy shell. Drew claimed that he'd been stuck in a cycle when really it was her, falling deeper and deeper in love with the same man who only broke her heart every damn time. It was ridiculous and she'd had more than enough.
"Of course it is. But don't worry. You won't be the one to leave without a word this time," she said, furiously blinking back the tears making her vision swim. "I'm already gone."
And she was. She swerved around him and hustled toward the doors so focused on making her escape that she didn't even see anyone else there until she ran smack dab into her and nearly knocked the other woman off her feet. They bobbled for a second before the woman locked one hand around Leah's arm, steadying herself. It took a second but the woman's name clicked into place. Rae. They'd had chemistry together and had been friendly, if not friends—especially when it came to the assholery of male nerds who thought a couple of chicks had invaded their space.
"Oh, my God, Leah, I'm so sorry," Rea wheezed, her free hand clutched to her chest as she regained her footing.
"Don't be sorry. I'm not mad at you." No, all her anger was aimed at only one person—herself. Once again she'd fallen for Drew Jackson.
Fury beating her insides to a pulp, she yanked open the door and strode out of the school, holding her head high even as she dragged her bloodied, mutilated heart in her wake.
Drew
Brain knocked off-line, he stood like an asshole and watched as she stormed out of the gym. He had no fucking idea what had just happened. How in the hell... Karly sidled up next to him, a fake smile turning her lips and an assessing look in her shit-stirring eyes.
"Oh my gosh," she said with a simper. "I didn't cause any trouble, did I?"
"Trouble?" His brain started to rev back into gear. "You? No. You're annoying, a pest, a gossip with nothing better to do but hiss snide comments about other people's lives. Trouble is that woman who just walked out the door and it's the kind I can't live without."
Leaving an open-mouthed Karly in his rearview, he hustled out of the gym determined not to lose Leah when he'd been lucky enough to get a second chance with her. She was in the parking lot by the time he caught up with her. How she managed to be that fast in heels, he had no damn clue.
"Leah," he called out.
She kept going, only the slight falter in her step gave him any sense that she'd heard him. Heart hammering against his chest like it was gonna crack right through his ribs, he sprinted to her. The urge to reach out and physically tie her to him so she couldn't run almost brought him to his knees. He couldn't though. He made one move toward her and like a cornered coyote, she'd charge and aim right for his balls.
"Dammit, Leah." He shoved his hands in his pockets as he kept pace with her breakneck pace. “Stop. I'm not going to Fort Worth."
"It doesn't matter," she said with just enough wobble in her voice to turn his stomach inside out. "It's not like any of this mattered outside of the strange bubble of Catfish Creek."
"Bullshit." Desperate to get her to understand he wasn't the boy he was that summer anymore, he was the man who wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he sped up and pivoted into her path, blocking her getaway. "Do you know what I did when I left you all snug in my bed last night?"
She didn't answer, but she didn't move either. It wasn't much but it was probably the best sign of encouragement he was going to get from her at this moment.
"I emailed the Fort Worth Police Department and withdrew my application. Then, I spent the next few hours applying for a job at every police department I could find within an hour of Denver," he said. "After that, I bought a pair of snow boots and a real life winter jacket because no matter what happens with the job—hell, I'll take a night shift security guard position—I need to be near you."
Ever the hard ass, Leah arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her body. "You lied to me. Maybe not outright, but by omission and I'm done making the same mistake over and over again. What do you want, for me to start a slow clap because of your bravery in deciding to leave Texas?"
"No, I want you to realize what you mean to me, what you've always meant to me, but I was too fucking dumb to figure it out any faster than this. I love you, Leah Camacho." She didn't move, didn't flinch in the slightest at his declaration. He sucked in as much of a steadying breath as he could, determined not to stop until he'd confessed it all. "I love that you make me nuts. I love that you wear your bad girl attitude like armor. I love that underneath all that black you wear nothing but hot pink lace. I love that you always keep me guessing. I love that you are the best kind of trouble there is." The hard expression on her beautiful face made him hurt. Fuck that. Agony was squeezing his chest hard enough to make him want to double over and cry for mercy, but he kept going. "I know you want to run. It's written all over your face. Don't do it. Or better yet, let me run beside you. I know exactly why my life has been on a loop until now, because it was leading me to you. No matter what I did, where I went, or how much I fought it, my life was always leading me back to you. Together we work. I don't know why. We just do and I'm sorr--"
Leah pressed a finger to his mouth, stopping him mid-sentence. His heart sputtered to a stop as the words died on his tongue. This was it. He could see a decision in her eyes. He'd either convinced her or he was going to have to continue this grovel in Denver.
"I know why," she said, a soft smile curling up one side of her mouth. "I've probably known somewhere deep down since I was six years old, but it seems like I was just as slow as you were." Her finger brushed across his lips and he couldn't stop himself from kissing the tip. "We work because we're different sides of the same coin."
It made sense. He was always Mr. Law and Order and she was little Miss Trouble. "Head and tails."
"Yeah." She took a stop closer, eliminating every inch of space separating them.
His hands seemed to move of their own accord, automatically going to her because he couldn't ever seem to stop touching her. "You do have a phenomenal ass."
Leah threw back her head and laughed. "Really? That's what you're going with at a time like this?"
He dipped his head lower. "I never said I had your brains."
She tilted her chin just the right amount to bring her lips within millimeters of his. "But you do have my heart."
