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I can feel her looking at me, and my pulse quickens. There it is—that fucking sign that I am alive, that she can affect me with one glance. I break eye contact to focus on the road, but I can’t shake the silence that’s suffocating us both.

I don’t normally care about awkward silences. I don’t normally feel anything. I’m always numb. Yet here I am with words clawing at the tip of my tongue, demanding to be said even though I know they’ll probably make everything worse.

“I’m sorry,” I say, and it takes everything in me not to drive the car off the road out of pure embarrassment. Slater Castellano doesn’t apologize. Ever.

Before I can veer off, she says immediately, “Slater, don’t be sorry. What are you sorry for?”

“For the kiss… after you made it clear we’re just friends.” I swallow, checking my mirrors as I drive.

“That’s why you’re apologizing?”

“I’m apologizing because I would do just about anything to fuck you, Sage, and I don’t think you appreciate that.”

“That’s it?”

“What?” I ask because her tone is sharp.

“You just want to fuck? Then what, Slater?” she glares at me.

“I fuck you again… and again.” I look at her. “And again.”

She shakes her head. “Is that what pretty privilege gets me?” She mocks the hell out of that and huffs looking out the window and then her eyes dart to mine. “You know, this sounds awfully a lot like a fucking marriage than a friendship.”

“Already thinking of marriage?”

I can’t contain my smile at that. Even when she’s cutting me down with that glare, she’s fucking cute. She has a way with me I can’t explain. “You would probably cry hearing all the dirty shit I want to do to you, Sage, but I’m trying to win you over first. Marriage can come later.”

She blushes, and something in my chest loosens. “So, what you’re saying is that... you... arrogant puck boy... are interested in me beyond just fucking?”

“I play to win.”

She finally relaxes. “Lies. All lies.”

“I’m not lying. My dick’s already hard.”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes. “You’re lying about the long-term fucking, Slater. You’ll get over it eventually.”

“Wanna bet?” I say, cocking my head at her.

Her eyes flutter at the expression I’m giving her.

I smirk, pressing my lips together.

And she blushes. “You’re just trying to get in my pants.”

“Do you want to make the bet?” I ask.

She stares out the window. “I bet that you would go stir crazy fucking the same girl over and over again.”

“You don’t want me to fuck other women, is that it?” I raise an eyebrow, looking at her. “ Friend? ”

She smiles at that last word. Friend . “You can fuck whoever you want,” she dismisses it like it’s no problem, but I can hear the slight edge in her voice.

“Including you?” I test.

“No, not me.” Her eyes are glittering now like she just won the fight.

The rejection should piss me off. Should make me want to prove her wrong, to show her exactly what she’s missing. Instead, it just makes my cock twitch in my pants.

“What is it going to take?” I ask.

“I’m not looking for anything at the moment.”

“Who hurt you, Sage?” The question comes out sharp, and I see her tense up.

Tyler.

That fucking ex-boyfriend of hers made her build these walls.

“I need time,” she says.

“There’s never a perfect time.”

“You just live your life, and I’ll live mine.”

I glare at her, feeling the familiar anger rising in my chest. This is what I do—I push, I take, I don’t accept no for an answer. But she’s not backing down, not giving me an inch.

“Is that how this is going to be?” My voice comes out harder than it should, darker. “You’re going to live in my house, eat my food, let me help you get back on your feet, and pretend we’re just strangers sharing space?”

“No because we’re friends, aren’t we?”

My teeth grind at the sound of that. If I had a sense of humor, I would laugh.

I say, “And what if I don’t want to play that game?”

“It won’t be for long. I’ve applied to a ton of places. Something will pull through.”

The threat hits exactly where she intended it to. She knows I don’t want her to leave. She knows she has that power over me, and she’s not afraid to use it.

We drive the rest of the way in silence, the tension so thick I can barely breathe. When we pull into my driveway, she’s out of the car before I’ve even turned off the engine, grabbing the house key, her bag and heading straight for the front door without looking back.

I watch her disappear into the house.

I sit in the car for a few more minutes, staring at my house and trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. She’s not playing by any of the rules I know. She’s not falling for my charm or my money or my carefully constrained bad boy persona.

She’s making me work for it. Actually work.

And if I’m going to win her over—and I am going to win her over—I need a new game plan. I need to go the extra mile, prove that I’m more than just the damaged self-centered asshole who wants to take her to pound town.

Time to show Sage exactly what happens when Slater Castellano decides he wants something.

Game plan A: Be cool. Be her fucking friend.

The thought makes me want to punch something.

Being friends means opening up, breaking down my own walls, making her feel comfortable while hiding every possessive instinct I have.

It means not grabbing her when I see other men looking at her.

Not claiming her in all the ways I want to.

Not showing her exactly who she belongs to.

This is going to be the biggest challenge of my life.

Before I commit to this torture, I lean back against the headrest and close my eyes. “Archer,” I whisper to the empty car. “If you’re up there, if you can hear me, I need a sign. Any fucking sign that she’s worth it, brother.”

The silence stretches for a moment, and then the commercial break on the radio ends. Not unusual, they were bound to play a song, but the timing makes my heart skip.

A beat I don’t recognize starts playing. Something I’ve never heard before, with a melody that’s haunting and raw. I turn it up, gripping the steering wheel as the first lyrics hit me like a freight train.

He’s got a dark soul. She’s got dark eyes.

Trying hard not to look but she wonders why.

He keeps his distance when she wants him near.

Fighting demons that she’ll never hear.

My breath catches in my throat. The words are too fucking perfect, too specific to be coincidence. I turn it up.

“Okay, brother,” I say, my voice rough. “I’m listening. I hear you.”

I listen to the rest of the song, letting the lyrics wash over me like some kind of permission slip.

Maybe I can do this. Maybe I can be her friend first. Once upon a time, before everything went to shit, I actually had friendships.

I didn’t just use women for pussy and meaningless hookups.

I had real conversations, cared about people and their feelings.

Maybe I can be that guy again. But just for Sage. Not for anyone else.

When the song ends, I finally get out of the car and head inside, carrying this strange new plan with me. I’m going to prove to her that I’m more than just the monster everyone thinks I am.

Starting now.