“You can do anything, Honey. You're brilliant and you have a heart bigger than any other person I know, but don't go backto them because ofmyfamily. Don't sacrifice yourself for my mess.”
She nods, then rests her head against my chest. “I'm going to think about it.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling helpless.
Honey tilts my chin and pulls me up off the floor so I'm sitting next to her. Then without another word, she climbs into my lap and kisses me on the jaw. “I want you to know though that it won’t change anything between us.”
“You sure about that?” I try to smile so she doesn't see how much the prospect of her working for her father makes me panic.
Honey’s too busy looking backward to see what the future has to offer her. Too busy looking at the same family who tried to barter her like she was their property, and at a firm that once saw her as leverage.
She kisses me on the lips, her hand clutching at my shirt.
I feel it. She’s trying to calm my nerves, and I’ll let her believe it because I need to be strong and support her.
“I'm so sure,” she whispers, shifting in my lap until she's straddling me. I wince at her movement, feeling my dick rubbing against her and knowing I'm going to get hard from this alone.
She kisses me again, deep and slow. I pull her closer, my hands finding their way under her shirt, feeling the warm skin of her back.
“If I do take the job—” Her lips trail along my jaw to my ear. “—nothing will change us.”
I wish I could believe that, but I know how these things work. People drift. Paths diverge. Sometimes no matter how much you love someone, life pulls you in different directions.
“We'll figure it out,” I promise, though I'm not sure I believe it myself.
She takes my face in her hands and makes me look at her. “I mean it, Zach. Nothing changes between us.”
I nod, but the doubt must show on my face because she kisses me again, harder this time, almost desperately.
“I need you,” she whispers, and just like that, my body responds, wanting nothing more than to lose myself in her.
I carry her to bed, our bodies already tangled in the tension that only we know how to resolve, and as I lay her down, I kiss her until neither of us can breathe and tell myself that love is enough.
Too bad I’m not sure I believe it.
Unknown:Not really my business, but if I were you, I’d want someone to warn me. Your boyfriend had a blonde over at his house. And honestly? She was stunning. He looked downright relieved you weren’t there.
I stare at the message. Not blinking. Not breathing… but not buying it.
My thumb hovers over the screen before I swipe it away infrustration.
Again.
They found me again.
I scrubbed everything, haven’t been on social media in years, changed my number countless times, and kept to myself, but the trolls always manage to find a way back.
“Earth to Honey?” Jenni waves her hand in front of my face, her blonde hair swinging as she leans across the lunch table. “You've been staring at your phone for like, a full minute. Did you even hear what I just said?”
I slip my phone into my pocket and force out a smile. “Sorry, I’m just… distracted.”
“Is everything okay?” Her eyes narrow slightly as everyone around us packs their bags. “You seem off today.”
I suck in a harsh breath, the tension from my discussion with Zach last night still sitting heavy in my chest. I call it a discussion because it wasn’t an argument—we didn’t raise our voices. Once he got over the initial shock, he was actually supportive. So why does the conversation keep replaying in my head like I got something wrong?
You’re too creative for that. You’ll hate it.
I might hate law, but if it frees Tiff and Ella… then why not? What else do I have to offer people if not a way out? The only class sparking my attention is Creative Writing, and even then, I’m not sure if it’s because I’m any good or because it’s the only class I actually have friends in.