Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Tanner: Are you there, or are you just choosing to ignore my texts? I’m getting a complex.
It occurred to me that I’d yet to actually respond to Tanner. Before I could type anything, Levi chimed in.
Levi: That’s not surprising. When we were out back tonight, he kept asking me questions about you. He wanted to know whether you’ve been seeing anyone. I felt like telling him about us right then and there. But I fucking couldn’t.
My heart began to race.
Levi: You there?
Presley: Yes. I’m just feeling overwhelmed right now.
After about a minute, he responded.
Levi: Alright, baby. Get some sleep. Hopefully he’ll leave at some point tomorrow, so we can have some alone time and process this together.
Presley: I hope so.
Levi: Sweet dreams.
Presley: You too.
I clicked on Tanner’s name and finally responded to him.
Presley: I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
The dots danced as he typed.
Tanner: Cool. Thank you.
I needed to shut down any further communication with Tanner tonight.
Presley: Going to sleep.
Tanner: Sweet dreams.
It wasn’t lost on me that his brother had just told me the same thing—“Sweet dreams”—a minute ago. There wouldn’t be any dreams tonight, unless they were nightmares about the predicament I’d gotten myself into. I probably wouldn’t be getting any sleep at all.
CHAPTER 20
* * *
Levi
I popped into Alex’s room the next morning. It was his first day of peewee football practice, and the plan had always been that I would take him.
“You ready to go to practice?”
“Dad’s gonna take me,” he said.
Not gonna lie, my heart sank a little. “He is, is he?”
“Yeah, I am.” Tanner’s voice came from behind me. “I figured you’ve been filling in long enough. I have a lot of making up for lost time to do.”
I understood that, but I still felt like crap. Alex and I had bonded in Tanner’s absence. Now that his dad was here, it felt like he didn’t need me anymore. And you know what? That would have been perfectly fine if I didn’t worry that Tanner was gonna somehow break his heart and flake out again.
A few minutes later, they were both gone, and the house was quiet for what felt like the first time in forever, even though it had only been a day. The only good thing about Tanner taking Alex was that it gave me a chance to finally be alone with Presley.
The second Tanner’s car pulled out of the driveway, I rushed to Presley’s side in the kitchen.
She looked so beautiful, leaning against the counter, holding her coffee while lost in thought.
“Hey,” I said.
She looked up and smiled. “Hey.”
I pulled her into my arms and spoke against her neck. “I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve gotten to hold you.”
Presley exhaled. “What the hell are we going to do, Levi?”
I placed a soft kiss on top of her head. “I thought I’d have this all figured out before we had to face him. Clearly, that’s not the case.”
“Yeah. Everything was easier when he wasn’t here.”
I pulled back to look at her. “Last night when we were outside having beers, he kept saying how good you looked. This mixture of guilt and jealousy hit me like a ton of bricks. And I didn’t know who I hated more in that moment—him or myself.”
“You have nothing to be jealous of,” she said as she ran her fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes, wanting so badly to carry her to my room and bury myself inside of her. But I got the impression she wasn’t in the mood. Presley seemed way too preoccupied.
I had to know. “What else did he say when he texted you last night?”
“He told me I looked beautiful yesterday and said he wanted to talk to me today.”
“Fuck. He wants you back, Presley.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yeah, I do know it. He didn’t say it in so many words last night, but it’s obvious.” Panic started to set in, and I felt the need to stake my claim. “You’re a nervous wreck,” I told her. “And I feel like I’m about to lose my mind. Not sure how much more of this either of us can take. Maybe I should tell him about us tonight.”
She shook her head. “No. Definitely not.”
Her adamant stance confused me a little. “No?”
“I don’t want him to find out what happened.”
Her choice of words jarred me.
“Happened? You realize you just used past tense.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she stammered. “It’s just…not the best time.”
“When will it ever be, Presley? Seriously. You think it’s gonna get any easier as time goes on?”
“No. I just don’t think it’s the right time to hit him with it.”
I moved back. “You seem very concerned with Tanner’s feelings.”
Presley shook her head. “I need some time. I feel like the rug was pulled out from underneath us, and I haven’t had a chance to regain my footing. Let’s just give it some time.”