Page 40 of Antagonist

I raise my brows. “You got what?”

He shrugs. “That you’re into the guy and totally in denial.”

“I already told you before, the guy…I can’t understand him. When I'm around him, I feel like a teenager again. I don’t know what to say or do. Mostly, I say and do the wrong thing.”

Tate puts a hand on my knee and squeezes.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Hare. Mostly because I don’t think you’re ready to hear it.”

I stare at the grass. “We kissed last week. It was…the best kiss of my entire life. And that sounds so wrong because you know, you and me…Stella. What I felt for you and then her was so strong at the time. But this guy?” I meet Tate’s eyes. “I feel this guy could hurt me in a way I’ll never come back from.”

“If you kissed, then there’s something there, right?”

I shake my head. “I panicked and ran. We were seconds away from a hand job in the school’s supply closet, Tate. This isn’t me. What if we’d been caught?”

Tate laughs. “This guy is rattling your cage, and it’s just what you need. Okay, maybe next time, pick a better location.”

“There will be no next time. I don't know. I get the impression he's the kind of guy who’s happy hooking up here and there. I’m too old for that. I want a guy who’ll be there when I get home. Who can sit through half a movie with me before we fall asleep on the couch together. I want to argue at the market about which vegetables are better and keep a score of whose turn it is to do the laundry.”

I run my hand through my hair, waiting for Tate to joke about what I just confessed. When he doesn’t, I look up and catch him smiling while watching Indy, who’s holding Tyler.

“Hare, all those things are possible. Remember when we were dating and used to talk about traveling together, staying in expensive hotels, drinking the best wine? That’s not the dream. The dream is what you described, and it’s so much better than anything.”

Indy notices Tate and grins. He says something to his family and comes over to us.

“Why were you looking at me like you want to make love to me until I’m pregnant with our second child?” He hands Tyler over to Tate.

“It’s a good thing you can’t get pregnant, hot buns, because we’d have a full house by now.”

Indy blushes and removes his hair tie, letting his long hair fall down before tying it up again in a messy bun.

The way he does it reminds me of Fletcher and his soft golden hair. Now I know how soft it is. Like silk. A shiver runs up my spine, and I suddenly feel like I’m being watched.

I finish the beer and stand to give Tate and Indy some space.

“Hey, have you met Fletcher?” Indy asks. “He’s Sage’s friend and has a kid about Megan’s age. Lives in Stillwater.”

Indy doesn’t notice my reaction to his words, but Tate definitely does.

“Um…yeah, I think I have,” I say, unsure how to respond.

Tate, being the super friend he is, doesn’t call me out, but he does raise a brow when he looks behind me.

I turn and see Fletcher standing by the back door, holding a large flat package. I can tell he wasn’t expecting to see me.

Indy’s mom gives him a hug and takes him inside. He glances over his shoulder briefly before they both disappear through the double doors.

“Hare, the way he was staring at you?” He shakes his head in the same steady beat he’s keeping with his body to sway Tyler. “He definitely has feelings for you. Granted, he looked like he might want to throw the nearest sharp object at you, but it’s a start.”

“Thanks,” I say. “My life goal has always been to find a man who can kiss as well as he can plot my demise.”

“Sounds like you got your wish,” he snorts.

“I hate you,” I say as I walk toward the house.

“You love me,” Tate shouts back, and I give him the finger without looking back.

There are people everywhere in the house. Definitely a lot more than the last time we came a few weeks ago. And somehow, most of them seem to have congregated in the living room.