Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 95019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Dax angles his head, giving me a pointed look like he knows something I don’t. “Is that what you really think it is?”
“What do you mean?”
“You think you jumped all over me when I said that about Marty because you’re in a mood?”
“What else would it be?”
I take a moment to work out if I missed something, and he grins.
“Oh, wow…” he drags out. “You really can be oblivious sometimes.”
I guess I am because I don’t know what the fuck he’s on about, maybe because my brain’s so scrambled with all this other crap.
“You want to play a video game?” he asks before noticing my hand. “Oops. Right. Maybe a movie?”
I’m surprised by how quickly he changed the subject, but given that moping about isn’t doing much for me, maybe it’s not a bad idea to chill with a buddy. “I’d like that.”
“Cool. You mind if I shower up first? Still smell like sweat and work, and not in the fun, sexy way.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, go for it.”
He hops up and heads to the bathroom.
I rewatch the last video I pulled up from my vacation with my parents. There’s still that sting in my chest, like a knife digging into my heart. I force myself to set my phone on the side table, when there’s another rattle at the door.
This time it has to be Mart.
I guess it could be a burglar, but it’s probably Mart.
The door opens, and he heads in. Funny how something as simple as seeing my boyfriend sends a rush of adrenaline right through me, like scoring a touchdown. I want to push to my feet and rush to him, but that mental heaviness keeps me from having the strength to stand. Like a part of me is forcing me to stay on this side of that figurative wall.
“Hey,” I manage.
As I adjust the peas on my thumb, I notice Marty’s eyeing me strangely. He has a hand behind his back, like he’s hiding something.
“What is it?” I ask.
He closes the door behind him, licking his lips. “I got you something on my way back,” he reveals, and my first thought is to wonder if I’ve missed some kind of anniversary, but of course, we haven’t been together that long. “It’s nothing major. Just…” He starts toward me, presenting this secret item—a protein bar. And not just any protein bar, but my favorite—the peanut butter and chocolate one I was notorious for borrowing from Payton whenever I’d run low. “I was hoping to come back with a whole box of them, but you were right about them being hard to get in the store. I stopped by, like, four before I found one.”
The heaviness weighing me down lifts, like the guys steadily leaving the dogpile. I set the peas aside and push to my feet, approaching him as he fiddles with the bar, which looks a little dented.
“It was the last one, and it’s not in great shape. I was debating whether to even give it to you, but…I wanted to get you something to cheer you up.” He holds the bar out, looking so shy about it.
I take it and study the glistening wrapping. It’s only a protein bar. Such a simple gesture. But it’s not. It’s a testament to the kind of guy Marty is—always has been. The guy who notices the little things. Who in a moment, when I was at my lowest, wanted to do something to cheer me up. The guy who’s been surprising the shit out of me since we both let our guard down with one another.
Now my eyes are welling with tears. Fucking tears.
“Ry?” He puts his arm around me, sliding his hand along the small of my back. The ease it elicits is enough to subdue the stinging in my thumb. “Is everything okay?”
He’s so caring. So thoughtful. And he can’t realize what such a simple gesture means to me.
Wrapping my arms around him, I draw him close, feeling the full reassurance of his hold, appreciating it more than I ever have before, when a realization hits me.
Now I know what Dax was giving me hell about when he said I was oblivious. I wasn’t just jumping down his throat when I thought he was insulting Marty. I care about this guy so fucking much…but it’s more than that. And it took a fucking protein bar to figure out just how much. And why I’ve been pushing him away.
I pull back, looking into his beautiful green eyes. “Mart, I’m sorry I’ve been keeping you at a distance. I’ve never felt like this for anyone before, and with everything going on with my parents, I’ve been scared to let someone else in, trust them when I know how much it could hurt if they betrayed me.”
“I can understand that,” he says, sounding so much more empathetic than I ever would have guessed during our initial animosity.