Page 55 of Declan

“Well, it couldn’t be my right one,” he said in aduhtone. “That’s my dominant hand.”

By the time we left the lake, it was a quarter ‘til five. We left empty-handed, but it hadn’t been about catching fish anyway. Hanging out and catching up with each other had been the goal.

“So pissed you assholes didn’t let me keep it,” Brysen whined from the backseat. Royal had driven us to the lake in his SUV, since it was big enough to hold the fishing poles, food, and the ice chest.

“B, it was too small,” Royal said, looking at our friend in the rearview mirror. “Not big enough to eat.”

We’d all caught a few fish that day, but had released them.

“Maybe I wanted to keep it as a pet.”

I snorted.

“What?” Brysen asked. “What’s so funny about that?”

“You can barely keep yourself alive, B,” I said with a laugh. “Believe me, it was more humane to let it go back to its family.”

Later that evening, I was watchingYouTubevideos on my phone when a text appeared on the top of the screen.

Spartan:What are you doing?

Me:Watching videos where ppl get scared. It’s funny af.

Spartan:Oh yeah? Come over to the hotel and we can watch them together ;)

I bit my bottom lip as I thought on how to respond. My stomach growled and I realized I hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

Me:K. But under one condition.

Spartan:Anything.

Me:Pizza.

Spartan:That can be arranged. Now get your sexy ass over here.

I hopped off the bed and went into the bathroom to check myself in the mirror. I ran my fingers through the brown strands of my hair, trying to get that effortless swoosh look to it. I’d showered that morning, but that’d been before we’d gone to the lake. Some body spray should cover any unpleasant earthy smells, though, so I used some.

Taking a shower would take too long, and I didn’t want to waste a moment with Declan. I only had like three more days with him. Three days and then it’d be over; the sex, the excitement, and the feeling of being wanted.

As usual, Royal had been right.

Even though I’d tried to keep it casual with Declan, I’d let stupid emotions get involved anyway. Not enough to send me into a crippling depression once he left, but enough to be upsetting. Over the past week, I’d kept a wall up between us, only going over to fuck him before leaving. But even without much conversation, I’d still let my guard slip.

My heart soared when he looked at me with those green eyes. I came alive when he touched me.

No other man would ever compare to him.

“Stop thinking so much into it,” I told myself in the mirror. Almost like a pep-talk. “It won’t be an end when he leaves. It’ll be a new beginning.”

My past boyfriends and hookups had given me somewhat of a poor self-image. Declan had shown me that Iwasworth something. Even when he was gone, my life would be impacted by him in a positive way—more so than it’d already been.

I leaned in closer, inspecting my face. My cheeks were a little pink from the sun that day.

Great. I’ll probably get even more freckles now.

Declan liked my freckles, though.

I smiled and exited the bathroom.