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“You promise?”
“I swear to you. I’ll go to work and do my best to stop thinking about you day and night.”
The teasing smile on his face put me at ease, allowing me to relax just a little. “You won’t leave without saying goodbye, right?”
He swallowed hard, nodding to me. “Of course. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Even though I knew this was what he needed, I didn’t want to leave him. I wanted one more night with him, for him to hold me in his arms like he used to when I was sad. But that was asking for more than he could give. I would only end up hurting him by asking him to comfort me when he was the one with the broken heart.
I took a step back, feeling like my whole world was falling apart. One step at a time, I walked away from him, gathering my things to leave. By the time I got in my car, I was crying hard, barely able to hold it together. I wasn’t even sure that Dash would allow me to stay, but what other option did I have?
When I pulled up to the house, he walked out, almost as if he was expecting me. He met me at the car door and pulled me into his arms, running his hand up and down my back as he tried to calm me. I didn’t understand why he did it. I was just grateful I wasn’t alone.
19
DASH
Happiness shouldn’t have beenthe first thing that came to mind when she pulled into my driveway. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor bastard who lost out on her tonight. As I held her in my arms, I thought about how hard it must be for him, to spill his heart to her, only to find out that she didn’t feel the same way.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She shook her head, stepping back and wiping her nose on the back of her hand. “Ugh, I’m such a mess.”
“That’s okay,” I smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I happen to like hot messes.”
She looked up at me with tear-streaked eyes, attempting to glare at me. “I never said I was a hot mess.”
“Well, I added that part in.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, directing her to the house. “Come on.”
“What about my bags?”
“I’ll make Brock do it.”
She nudged her shoulder against mine. “Don’t be mean to him.”
“I’m not mean. I just like to bust his balls.”
I had to practically carry her into the house as she leaned heavily against me, which was really fucking hard when we had to climb overthe couch. It wasn’t until we were inside that she turned to me with questions in her eyes.
“How did you know I was coming?”
“Andrew called,” I lied.
“Oh.” Her shoulders drooped and for a moment, I thought she was going to start crying again. While I was happy things hadn’t worked out with Andrew, I found myself in an equally precarious situation. I really liked her, but there was no way I could make a move on her when she was this heartbroken over another man, even if it wasn’t because she was in love with him.
“Why don’t you go sit down. I’ll bring you something to drink.”
She nodded, moving to the living room in almost a catatonic state. This was new to me. I wasn’t used to being the caring friend. I was always the jokester, the guy who always had a good time. Brock walked into the kitchen, jerking his chin at me.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out what to give a woman who’s upset.”
He frowned at me. “Who’s here?”
“Laura,” I said, shooting him a knowing look. I’d already told him about the situation with Andrew.
“Oh, so she didn’t choose him.”