“Oh, right. You prefer your happy endings to stay in your head, and I don’t mean the one below your belt.”
“Mike?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
“Hey, I’m being serious here.”
“I’ll be in the truck.”
“Aw, come on, I was just givin’ you shit.” As I pushed open the exit door, I heard him laugh and call out, “Ollie! Yo, Ollie, come back. I swear I won’t tell anyone about the rash.”
SURPRISINGLY, I LET Mike go home in one piece. After stopping by one of the day spas downtown for Deb’s gift card—and the assurance that they were professional and didn’t employ any attractive men to piss Mike off—it’d been time to call it a day and head home for a long, hot shower.
But I was still restless, my mind warring against itself. Talking with Mike earlier had only shown me how stupid I was being. ’Cause when it came down to it, what was I really worried about? That Reid wasn’t in a position to think clearly for himself?
Or was it that I was too fucking scared he’d end up hurting me?
Ding, ding, ding.Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
That was what it all boiled down to, wasn’t it? I was scared shitless. And that fear had me pushing away the one thing I really wanted.
Reid.
Christ, I was some kinda dumb.
After shutting off the water, I grabbed a towel and wondered what to do about it. Did I reach out to Reid and apologize? Did he want me to? Or did I need to give him space?
Still unsure after toweling off, and too anxious to sit around, I decided to do the one thing that always helped clear my head even though it’d require another shower later—I went for a run.
Orange and pink streaked the partly cloudy sky as the sun began its descent, and the temperature was mild enough that I got away with skipping a jacket.
The longer I ran, the clearer it became that I’d made a massive error with Reid the other night. I should’ve been down on my knees, thanking God or my lucky stars that they’d been listening in on my dreams, but instead, I’d believed it was too good to be true.
I only hoped it wouldn’t be too late to set things right.
As it turned out, I wouldn’t have to bang down his parents’ door, because as I drew near, I could see Reid standing by the edge of the lake, breaking off pieces of bread from the bag he held and throwing them out to the squawking ducks, who practically shoved each other out of the way to dive for the food.
I slowed down to a light jog and let my breath catch up, and when I was only a few feet away, Reid finally looked up, an inscrutable expression on his face.
“Hey,” I said, stepping forward cautiously, as if I were approaching a skittish animal that might run away.
“Come all this way for me, or just out for a run?”
Ah, so I hadn’t been the only one sulking today. “I wasn’t sure if you’d wanna see me.”
Reid’s eyes narrowed. “Why wouldn’t I want to see you? I think I made it clear how much I do want to see you.”
I put my hands up. “I know you did. And I’m sorry I freaked out?—”
“Why did you freak out?” he said, walking toward me, his brown eyes searing into mine. “I’ve seen the way you look at me, Ollie. I may have a few holes I can’t seem to reconcile, but I’m not stupid.”
“I know you’re not.”
“You know, ever since I left the hospital, I’ve been walking on eggshells with everyone. My parents, my sister, the people I called friends. You were the only person who made me feel normal. The only person I didn’t feel stupid around.”
“Reid—”