Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I also couldn’t help but think that maybe it would be okay. If I told him how I felt about Chase, maybe Griff wouldn’t care. Or he might lose it, worried about me getting hurt, but then he’d be supportive.
I opened my mouth. What I was going to say, I didn’t know, but then reality shoved its way in, reminding me that Chase didn’t feel the same. He wanted to fuck me, yeah, and he liked me, but he didn’t love me the way I loved him, and when he didn’t want to be with me anymore, it would cause issues with Griff. That was the last thing I wanted.
“You’re imagining things. I’m fine, bro. No worries, okay?” And I was fine. I always made sure of that. I’d been in love with Chase for most of my life, and I hadn’t let it break me. I didn’t plan to start now.
Griff and I chatted while I finished my breakfast, which okay, yes, was technically lunch. Afterward, I went to shower. Then, since we were running out of groceries, I went to the store to do all that boring adulting shit I wasn’t real fond of.
I parked my car, and as I was making my way into Grant’s, I saw Chase loading bags into the cab of his truck. Because of course I would run into Chase. My karma sucked ass.
The heavy gray clouds hanging in the sky matched my mood. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the sky opened up and we got hit with a storm. Still, I squared my shoulders and walked over to him because I wasn’t going to ignore him. I was stronger than that.
“Hey, you.”
Chase turned, and holy crap, the right side of his mouth kicked up in that way I loved. “Hey. Fancy seeing you here.”
“Not really. We live in a small town. Odds are we’d run into each other,” I teased.
Chase tossed the last bag into the truck and closed the door. He’d parked by the carousel, so he slipped his cart inside. “One would think. I was beginning to wonder if you were avoiding me, which, oh hey, you were, starting with you sneaking out of my house in the middle of the night.”
“I didn’t sneak out. I left.”
Chase cocked a brow at me.
Of course he had to be right and know me so well. “Okay, fine, I sneaked out. Whatever.”
He crossed his arms against his chest and leaned on the truck. There was something different in his stance, like he was…fuck, like he was unsure, which didn’t make sense to me at all.
“Why’d you leave, Kell? You should have let me take you home, at least.”
Because obviously that was what it would be about. He was worried about me getting home or thought it was his responsibility to get me there. “Ugh. Fuck you.”
He frowned. “Why are you pissed at me? What did I do now? I feel like I don’t know which way is up, like I’m always making you mad or saying the wrong thing.” There wasn’t anger in his voice, just this quiet curiosity that told me he really wanted to know.
On cue, the sky opened up, fat raindrops falling down on us. “Shit. Get in the truck.” Chase opened the door and signaled for me to go in, but I simply stood there stupidly for a moment. “We gonna stand here all day getting wet?”
The question snapped me out of it, and I jumped into the driver side of the truck, then crawled over to the passenger seat. Stupid Chase Hawthorne and his gentlemanly streak.
He got in behind me and slammed the door. We were both soaked already, his hair plastered to his head, his shirt tight against the body I wanted to explore even more.
“That came quick,” he said. “I forget how fast that happens here. Now, are you going to tell me why you’re pissed at me?”
“I’m not pissed at you.” But really, I was pissed at him. And myself. And the whole situation.
Chase rolled his eyes. “You can’t lie to me, and you know it.”
There were some things I needed to consider, though. He made it sound like his biggest worry was how I got home. I was so fucking tired of that shit. “You know I’m capable of getting home on my own, right?” At that, the bastard started to laugh. It was throaty and sexy, and the fact that I thought it was hot pissed me off even more. “You’re an asshole. Drive me to my car.”
That shut him up. He looked at me and shook his head. “No. Why are you mad at me because I wanted to take you home after fucking you?” He flinched, and that annoyed me too. It made it seem like he felt guilty for sleeping with me.