Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“It’s not you, it’s me…?” I said, and he chuckled quietly.
“Well, no shit it’s not me. I’m fucking fabulous.” And despite our differences and the fact that he’d cheated on me, I knew he was a decent man—flawed, but decent and not the right one for me.
“You’re not too bad,” I teased. “When you’re not being a spoiled brat.” I leaned forward and kissed Jayden’s forehead. I didn’t agree with what he’d done with Salvador, but the truth was, I hadn’t always been fair to Jayden either. I knew I couldn’t give him my heart.
“I think I want to leave tonight. Before your family wakes up.”
“You don’t have to do that. We don’t have to tell them anything. We can pretend everything is fine, but—”
“But you’re not going back to the city yet.”
“No,” I answered. I wasn’t. I wanted to be with my family. I wanted to fix whatever had broken between Isaac and me because nothing felt right since we’d started to grow apart.
“I’m going to see if I can book a flight.” Jayden sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his phone. There was one leaving Atlanta early in the morning, so I got up with him and quietly helped him pack.
When I said, “We should head out,” I didn’t expect his response.
“I called a car. It should be here any minute. I don’t… I think it’s better if we say goodbye here.”
I nodded. “I’ll walk you out.” We were quiet as we grabbed Jayden’s things, went downstairs and outside. As soon as we got to the street, a car turned down the road. “Come here.” I pulled him into a hug.
Jayden gave me a small smile, got into the car, and left.
Another relationship over and done with, and this one I’d pulled my family into. At least with the others I hadn’t had to worry about letting Mom down.
I stayed outside long after Jayden was gone. When I got back in, I didn’t go into my room, instead heading straight for Isaac’s. I was surprised he’d stayed the night, but Mom had said he might as well so he could say goodbye the next day.
He was dead to the world, the blanket only partly covering his chest, groin, and legs, which stuck out, bare. Isaac’s face was toward the door, softened in a way it wasn’t when he was awake. He’d always been good at fooling people, but I knew he carried around more weight than he showed.
I went over to him, watched him breathe like some kind of creeper before reaching out to touch his shoulder. The second I did, his eyes jerked open, holding firm on me. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I want to draw you.” It’d been so long since we’d done this, I just knew he would tell me no. That he would say I was crazy and he wasn’t getting out of bed, all ways to build even higher that wall he’d erected between us.
But Isaac surprised me. “Okay.”
I stood there for a moment, waiting for him to get up, but he shot me a smirk, the cocky Isaac making an appearance.
“You wanting a dick-measuring contest too? Because I gotta tell you, I’m packin’. If that’s not what you’re looking for, you might want to go because I’m naked under here.”
“Oh.” Shit. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of that. My face heated, which was confusing as fuck, so I turned away before Isaac could notice. “See you in the attic.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I went upstairs, paced, nerves scattering throughout my body. Why I felt like this after talking to my own brother, I couldn’t figure out.
It really was only a couple of minutes later when I heard the door, and then Isaac’s footsteps as he came up. I turned to look at him—his short hair messy, stubble along his jaw, which was sprinkled with gray despite him being only thirty. The corners of his mouth were turned down, his eyes leery behind his facade. He was wearing a pair of nylon shorts that reached his knees, the band of his underwear peeking out the top of them. He didn’t have a shirt on, and his chest and abs were more defined than they’d been when we were younger.
“Are we having a staring contest I wasn’t aware of?” he asked, pulling me out of…well, the way I’d been taking him in. It felt really different to do this as adults. An uneasy feeling started low in my gut, traveling up into my chest. But then, our relationship had changed so much that it made sense.
“Sit down.” I pointed to the couch.
“Not your lapdog, Lane.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just sit down, Isaac.”
With a sigh, he did, but I knew he wasn’t done talking yet. Isaac rarely was. “Are you sure you’re allowed to be up here? I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble with your boyfriend—oh, hey, remember how you always told me you were straight? I’m gonna need you to explain to me how the whole dating-a-guy thing happens in that situation.”