Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
He watched me as if there was some trick to my words. His stare felt so heavy that it was almost like a caress, but I refused to be moved by the emotion written all over his face. “So, we’re good?”
“I forgive you.” That was my answer and I was sticking to it. I wasn’t sure yet if I was ready to do anything more than offer forgiveness in the face of his presumptuous explanation.
“Torey, please.” He pinched the bridge of his nose again and exhaled. “Are we good?”
“I don’t know, Ryan. What I do know is that we’re going to finish out this week, because it benefits both of us. But just to ease your mind, we can have a big breakup the night of the dance, and you can do whatever you want for the rest of your leave.”
He looked disappointed by my answer, and at first I thought he might argue with me. That he might try to convince me that we needed to talk it out. Kiss it out. Fuck it out. But he did none of that. Instead, Ryan nodded slowly and turned away, leaving a trail of sadness in his wake.
And I refused to even think about why I felt so disappointed that he didn’t do any of that.
Yeah, I was conflicted as hell but more than that, I was determined to stuff my emotions down deep and never let them see the light of day. It was clear that I’d made a big mistake recruiting Ryan to be my fake weeklong boyfriend. The tiny crush I’d harbored for about twelve months back in high school still had some legs on it, and there was only one thing to do.
Cut those feelings off at the legs.
Chapter 12
Ryan
“So, did you fix it yet?” Nix stood in the doorway of my childhood bedroom, arms crossed, a familiar glare on her face. “Well?”
My impatient sister stared at me through the mirror, and I didn’t like it, so I turned around and arched my brows. “Fix what, exactly?”
“Whatever the hell is going on with you and Torey. You said that you would fix it, but seeing as you both are hiding from me, I’m guessing you didn’t.”
I groaned inwardly, knowing Nix wouldn’t let this go until it was fixed to her satisfaction. “I tried, dammit. She listened and said she would let me know.” Whatever that meant. Maybe it was naïve to expect anything beyond forgiveness from Torey, but I thought she’d give me more.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
“No. I absolutely do not.”
She chuckled and stepped inside my room before dropping down on my bed. “Sounds juicy.”
“Nix,” I groaned and turned back to the mirror where my reflection stared back at me and called me an asshole.
She laughed again, sounding far too amused for my liking. Rolling off the bed, she tugged on my arm. “I’ll help you.” Nix smacked my hands away and began fixing my tie. “Even though you totally slept with Torey.”
“I am not having this conversation with you Nix.”
“Fine, I’m not all that eager to hear about your sex life.” Her smile was bright and teasing. “Was it just sex or do you actually like her?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She was right; she hadn’t asked for anything beyond our fake relationship. Then again, I hadn’t given her a chance to say anything before I stupidly talked about mistakes. She had pointed it out earlier today with a stony expression, but I knew Torey well, and I saw the signs of hurt that she tried to hide.
Nix gasped and took a step back, staring at me like I was a freak show. “Oh. My. God. You do like her!” She clapped her hands together and tossed her head back. “You totally like her.”
“I didn’t say that.” My words were useless, even if Nix could hear them over her own delight.
“You didn’t have to, big brother. That grumpy expression on your face tells me everything I need to know. So, now that the truth is out there, wanna talk about it?”
“Still, no.”
“Fine. But we should get going or we’ll be late for the Cocktail Lover’s charity contest.” She rolled her eyes. “Never heard of such a thing, but it’ll be fun and it’ll bring in a lot of money for the local women’s shelter. Make sure you kick ass tonight.”
“I’ll do my best.” I’d spent a few hours on YouTube learning what I could about what makes a good cocktail because I was a hometown boy and I wanted to do well, and yeah, I was hoping my skills would impress Torey. If she bothered to show up.
“Good. Let’s go. Lee is going to meet us there.”
“How did you get him to agree to show up for so many town events? I heard he was a recluse.”