Page 30 of Before You (Reckless Love #2)

“Relax. She’s never looked at him that way, it’d be really weird if she did,” Bria continues, and I hate I’m this predictable. I’m jealous of a guy I just learned about when it comes to the girl I’m in love with but not dating. Why aren’t we dating again?

“Am I that obvious?”

She doesn’t even try to hide her smile, her silver eyes lighting up with mischief that should scare me. “You have been from the moment you two saw each other again.”

“What are we whispering about?” Tessa asks, and I feel like I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.

“Oh, nothing, just telling Bria my hamstrings are tight from not stretching enough before our intervals today.”

“He was asking who Maddox was,” Bria corrects, thankfully leaving out my feelings for Marley. I’d prefer if she didn’t advertise that to everyone before Marley and I even get a fair chance to discuss it. If it ever ends up happening that is, but she’s not the only one with cards up her sleeve.

“Has Bria mentioned introducing you to my roommate, Asher? I swear, he talks about her all the time,” I retort, throwing her under the bus in response. Her mouth unhinges and Marley laughs.

“Who’s Asher?” Tessa asks, looking at her daughter who is too busy glaring at me to notice.

“Exactly how close are you to our daughters if you don’t know Maddox is her uncle?” Hayes asks, and when I look at him, his eyes are narrowed in scrutiny, and I’m back to square one.

“I might not know who Maddox is, but I know plenty. Bria has no problem voicing her opinion, but she can be forgetful. She’s the kind of girl who will kick your ass if you need it, but she’s loyal and a good friend.

” I take a breath, trying to gather my thoughts, but I don’t need to.

I need to speak from the heart. “Marley chews her nails when she’s nervous, but when she doesn’t want you to see, she spins her ring on her thumb.

She loves to play the guitar and sing because it allows her a way to express her emotions without discussing them, but it’s also the same reason she doesn’t share her music with anyone.

She’s incredibly smart, caring, and the kind of person you meet once in your life, or in my lucky case, twice. ”

Hayes blinks, his cerulean eyes widening, and I have a feeling he’s not caught off guard very often. But sitting to his right is the girl of my fucking dreams with tears shining in her eyes and the most beautiful smile.

~

My phone trills, signaling an incoming text to pull me out of the light sleep I’ve been drifting in and out of. I blink, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the bright screen in my dark room.

Marley : Are you awake?

I’m not missing a chance to talk to her. I’d much rather speak to her over the phone than text, so I call her and it doesn’t even have a chance to ring once before she picks up.

“I’m sorry if I woke you up. I just really needed to talk to you and I—” she rambles, speaking too quickly for my barely awake state.

“Sweetheart, take a breath, it’s fine. I was kinda awake already,” I say, rubbing my eyes as I sit up in my bed. “What’s on your mind?”

“How . . . how do you remember all these things about me? The water you remembered to grab for me at the party, that I play the guitar, the music therapy, learning Italian, and everything else. How, JJ? Why? ”

Okay, I guess the middle of the night is an appropriate time for this conversation although I’d prefer to have it in person.

I wasn’t honest with her about the one thing I should have been honest with her about, but I can be honest about this.

“Why? Marley, do you even need to ask?” I laugh, not because it’s not funny, but because it’s the easiest damn question I could ever answer.

“Because I’m in love with you, sweetheart.

I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you, and I can’t imagine ever not loving you.

I know it doesn’t make sense, but I’ve had a lot of time to think about this, and I think not being able to understand how it happened is part of the beauty.

All I need to know is what you mean to me and that’s enough.

I’ve replayed our hours in France so many times, memorizing everything so if I ever saw you again, I could show you what you mean to me instead of telling you.

” I swallow the lump forming in my throat, hoping I didn’t take it too far.

At this point, go big or go home. “I didn’t think I’d see you again because of your ex-boyfriend, but I’m glad he convinced you to transfer here. ”

I don’t know why I hold back the letters. Maybe it’s because I know if I tell her, Marley will want to read them, and some things are better left forgotten in the box I’ve kept them in. There are sins written I’m not ready to atone for by losing Marley.

Marley’s subtle gasp of air is the only reason I can tell she’s still there.

She exhales a shuddering breath, and I wish I were next to her right now.

“Wow . . . um, there is a lot to unpack, and some I think we need to talk about in person, but your last point is something I can clear up right now. I didn’t transfer to Beaumont for Trent.

I met Trent in April after I’d already been accepted and decided I was transferring here.

My dad went here, which you know after dinner, but my transfer was already in motion when I met him. ”

What?

Oh fuck, I’m an idiot. Why the hell did I believe Trent? I should have known better, because it’s not something I think Marley would do, but I wish I’d asked about this sooner.

“Tomorrow,” I blurt out, eager to have this conversation with her.

Hell, I’d drive over there right now if she asked, but I also want to give her a second to process everything.

Shit, does she need more time than tomorrow?

“If it’s not too soon, we can talk tomorrow,” I say, trying to backtrack a little to take some of the pressure off Marley.

“JJ, don’t you have a game?” she asks.

“Bring your family to the game. They can use my family’s tickets to sit in the suites, so no one really bothers them.”

My eyes are slowly drifting shut as I lie back into my mountain of pillows.

“I’ll see what I can do, but they might’ve already made plans.”

“It’s no problem if you can’t make it, but I’ll leave them at the ticket booth anyway if you guys can. I’m sorry, but I do have to get back to sleep,” I say, my heart filling with hope. “Goodnight, Marley.”

“Goodnight, JJ,” she says softly, and even though she didn’t say anything about her feelings in this call, I still fall asleep with a smile because her face at dinner said everything she’s left unspoken.