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“First of all, stop blaming me for yourfeelings,” she told him calmly, hands gripping the edge of the table she was leaning against. “Did I appreciate how good the sex was? Yes. I never said…wenever said that we were exclusive. You were having as much of a good time as I was. The fact that you keep putting this entirely on me is unfair.” Gavin didn’t back off, in fact a rumble started in his chest that made Ginny roll her eyes.Does he think he’s some kind of animal?“You need to take responsibility for what happened too. Grow the fuck up, Gavin.”
Those were the words that finally did it, because he released the frustrated growl and edged closer to her. Ginny pushed off the table, straightening up to show her defiance. Gavin opened his mouth to speak, then changed his mind, his gaze never leaving hers. The eye contact was intense and she didn’t think they’d ever looked at each other this way before. Plus, the twelve years apart had really dulled some of the memories of him. Not the intense ones, though Ginny would be fine with them not resurfacing every few minutes.
“I wish I never met you,” he whispered. Gavin was close enough that she felt his breath brush against her skin. Ginny let the words bounce off her, because even in her state of frustration and shock, she knew that Gavin didn’t mean it.
“You’re the fucking worst,” she lobbed back.
Gavin’s mouth twitched into a smile, but he never completed it, because his lips were suddenly inches away from hers. Her hand landed on his chest, dampness seeping through the cotton, and she sucked in a sharp breath that startled him. Kissing Gavin had always been life-altering and as much as she wanted to press up and taste him, Ginny knew that it would only end badly.
Putting a little pressure, Ginny pushed Gavin back and saw his eyes widen in confusion. Almost like he was unaware of what he’d been about to do. He took another step back, her hand fell from his chest and she released a shaky breath. He pressed his eyes shut and she grabbed the edge of the table to steady herself. The sounds of their heavy breathing echoed through the room and Ginny gritted her teeth at how close she came to fucking everything up all over again.
When he blinked his eyes open to focus on her, Ginny held her breath and waited for him to say or do something. Gavin shook his head as one hand covered his mouth and dragged down his jaw. They could say all the nasty things they wanted to each other, they could be assholes too; but they could never cross that line. Or at least that’s what she kept telling herself.
“Yeah, I wish I never met you either,” she muttered, grabbed her bag where she dropped it in a chair and marched out of the office. Hand on her chest, Ginny replayed what happened and what was said, and mutteredfuckover and over again under her breath as she climbed into her car and drove as far away from Gavin and his pet shelter as she could.
CHAPTER5
Then
Gavin wasn’t pleased. He’d spent most of the summer hanging around Nia and stealing kisses when nobody was looking, but now she was ignoring him. Sure, if he asked her, she’d say she was just spending time with her friends. But that’s not how it felt. The last time he’d kissed her had been behind the arcade when she kicked his ass atMortal Kombatagain and that had been three days ago. The last time they’d had sex was the week before, when their parents had gone to dinner with some friends and his brothers had gone to some party. Gavin felt like maybe Nia was getting bored of him, that she didn’t want to be with him anymore. But he couldn’t give her up that easily. Not unless she said she wanted nothing to do with him, then he’d do his best to let her go.
He’d left his bedroom door unlocked in the hopes that Nia would sneak in at some point, but she hadn’t. And now it was morning, the birds were making a racket like they always did, and he was still alone in bed. Gavin flipped onto his back and tucked his hands behind his head, eyes fixed on the ceiling. His feelings for Nia sometimes scared him. It was intense and wild, just like she was. When they were together, all the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly. When she was away from him, like she had been the past few days, he felt so disconnected. Like he was missing a part of his body.
Gavin’s thoughts wandered as he watched the sunlight play along his ceiling—maybe Nia was with someone else, maybe she was going to break up with him and was thinking of the best way to do it. His heart would shatter into a million pieces if she’d found someone else, if there was another person in the world that she wanted more than him. Gavin would accept his fate, but he wouldn’t like it.
“Wakey wakey, Little Rhodes.”
The voice startled him, but when he registered who it was, Gavin pretended to ignore her. He kept his eyes on the ceiling, but listened to her move around his room. In his periphery, he could see her close the door and tip-toe towards him. Gavin sighed softly as Nia climbed into the bed and crawled on top of him.
“Good morning,” she whispered, looking like she had been up all night. But still so very pretty. Her hair was wind-blown and tangled, her lush mouth was plump like she’d been kissing someone else all night and her beautiful brown eyes were sparkling.
“Have you been up all night?”
Nia nodded, shifting until she was straddling him, their hips lining up together. Gavin’s eyes dropped to the front of her camisole and the sand still sticking to her skin. She’d been kissing someone elseandrolling around in the sand with them too. So much for him assuming that just because they had a conversation about it, she washis. Maybe he hadn’t said or asked the right things.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, the hoarseness of her voice evident now that she wasn’t whispering. “You’re frowning at me.”
“Where were you last night?”
“Out. Where were you?”
He turned to face the window, hoping to hide his frustrations. “Here, waiting for you.”
“Why?”
“Because I haven’t spent any time with you in a while.”
Nia’s hips pressed against his and the bed creaked slightly as she leaned forward, hands dropping to the bed on either side of him. Gavin stared up at the goddess hovering over him, her dark hair creating a curtain around their faces. “You could have texted me or joined me last night.”
“I don’t like the people you hang out with,” Gavin told her, not bothering to sugarcoat his dislike for herfriends. Even Spencer, who was Nia’s best friend, didn’t like her Tybee friends. They weren’t nice to her and were clearly using her for the access to the house they shared every summer.
“They’re not that bad.”
“Okay.” He sighed and untucked his hands, lifting one to brush Nia’s hair out of her face. “I missed you this week.”
She nuzzled into his palm and smiled, playfully nipping at his skin. “I’m here now, you don’t need to miss me anymore.”
Gavin hummed and gently tugged Nia’s mouth to his. Lips collided and parted, tongues swiping and tangling and he grunted at the taste of alcohol. He couldn’t even identify what Nia had been drinking, but it was unpleasant. Gavin pulled away and made a face, which caused Nia to laugh. She slid off him and dropped to the bed beside Gavin, tucking herself into his side. He waited until she was fully settled before he draped an arm around her back, his fingers brushing against her bare arm.
