Page 39

Hartley

“ M y man!” Mason heads through the huddle of drunk girls and football players to bro hug me. We’ve always been friends, but with Ryan’s situation, we’ve grown closer. Stetson, one of the Springs U baseball players in our close circle, is close behind.

“Hey.” Jutting my chin out, I stick my hands in the front pockets of my jeans.

Stetson reaches out to shake my hand, so I remove them from my pockets to return the gesture. Mason grips me and pats my back with a thump.

“Where’s Liza?” Mason’s eyes wander behind me for my petite blonde queen. If there’s anything to love about Mason, it’s his loyalty and protectiveness towards his friends. Liza falls within that category since we’ve been attached at the hip as of late.

“She saw a friend from class, so I dipped away before I consume her for the rest of the night.”

Mason shoots his million dollar smile, girls swarming behind him yet he doesn’t even notice. “You’re obsessed, man.” He reaches around to curl one of the girls under his arm.

I shake my head and try to remember a time where that was me. “You’ll never change. A true savage, dude.”

“Nah, I’m trying to be good. Figured I’d give it a try.”

I laugh. “Good luck with that.”

“Umm.” He looks behind my back again and scans the nearby crowd.

“Did Em come out with you two?” His face distorts into a more serious look with his jaw clenched and his brows furrowed tight.

Stetson shakes his head as if he can see the writing on the wall.

He’s a quiet dude from what I’ve seen and heard.

Doesn’t talk much but is always watching.

“No. Liza asked, but she said something about wanting to avoid drama.” I shrug my shoulders. “What’s the deal with you two?” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to decipher the tension between those two at Liza’s art exhibition.

“Nothing to tell.” He sucks in his cheeks and lets out a defeated breath. “Not anymore.”

“Go with that,” Stetson pipes up.

Mason lets out a shaky breath. “Let’s table this conversation for another day. Preferably one where I’m sober.”

“I’ll catch you all later.” I leave Mason and search for Goldie in the thickened crowd.

Stetson follows, saying something about needing to go for a walk.

I’m taller than most people here, so it isn’t hard to spot who I want, but my stomach bottoms out when I see Liza with her arms folded over her chest, tight lips, and darting eyes with a massive guy standing too close for comfort.

“Why is Liza talking to that guy?” Stetson spits out, clearly having no lost love towards the man.

“No idea,” I manage out, fists curled up tightly.

“Guy’s a jerk,” he scoffs. “We play them tomorrow, but he’s well known amongst the team as a trash talker on the field.” Stetson’s voice muffles into the background. All I can focus on is getting to Liza.

“Wait, he plays baseball?” My jaw clenches as my fists curl, realizing who this guy is.

“Yeah. No lost love between the two teams.”

She doesn’t catch my gaze, so I push my way through the crowd, once I’m closer I see the logo on the back of his shirt, NOLA South U Baseball.

Her ex is here in our bar, stealing our bad decisions night away from under my nose.

My eyes narrow and my pupils dilate, seeing dotted rings around my focus.

All I can think about is getting to her before he crosses a line.

Liza

“Not the warm welcome I was expecting, sweetheart.” His condescending tone dripping from the lips I once swore I would kiss forever.

Now, all I feel is disgust. Layne is polarizing in a crowd, someone you can’t miss even if you tried.

He towers over me in a purple NOLA South Baseball polo with khaki pants and the Nikes he’s always worn.

What once was irresistible to a naive high school Liza, is now hard to look at for completely different reasons.

“We play Springs U tomorrow. Thought I’d try to find my girl.

Knew you’d be out. Can’t take the party out of the girl, I see. ”

“What do you expect me to say, Layne?” I muster up as much sarcasm as I can in my shocked state. “ Thank you so much for cheating on me. I’m so happy to see you! ”

He scoffs loudly, dismissing my feelings like he always does.

“You’re still on that?” He inches closer and closer, almost backing me into the sticky bar wall.

The already small space closes in on me in the worst way.

I’m suddenly finding it difficult to breathe.

He takes up all the air. “I’m an athlete, Liza.

It meant nothing. You know it’s always been you. ”

“That’s a shame because it ruined me for a while,” I let out for the first time. We’ve never discussed that night in detail, and it feels good to get my feelings off my chest. “I’m better now. No thanks to you, but to myself.”

He rolls his eyes, once again not hearing my words fully. “We had it good. I miss you.”

“Sure.”

“We were never anything, me and that girl. She was a random hookup. You, on the other hand, are the love of my life.”

“Funny way to treat the love of your life.” He’s unbelievable and hasn’t changed a bit.

“Don’t you think it’s time to move back to New Orleans? You had your fun and got it out of your system. Move in with me, and when I get called up to the MLB, you can follow me.”

“This isn’t a phase, Layne, this is my life.” Standing straighter than I was before, I walk into him, bumping into his solid chest causing him to back up a few inches. “I love it here, and I couldn’t think of anything more repulsive than being your girlfriend again.”

From my left side, a hand wraps around my shoulder and spins me to face him.

Him . That touch sends thousands of magnetic shocks through my system and warms my belly in the best way.

“Goldie,” he breathes out, kissing my cheek with his signature goofy smile, but with a hint of tension behind it that only I could notice.

“What did I miss?” For a split second, I forget we’re in a muggy college bar with hundreds of random people swirling around us.

I forget my toxic ex is standing inches away from my current boyfriend, asking me to move in with him.

All of my worries melt away, and it’s just the two of us.

“Absolutely nothing,” I say back with the confidence I’ve grown into here with Hartley and my friends. “Can we go, please?”

“Whatever you want.” His hands move to my hips with a little squeeze. He laces his sweaty fingers in between mine, but before we get too far, Hartley turns around and says, “Oh, Layne, is it?”

Layne’s eyes are filled with fury because he can’t have or control me. Not anymore. “Yeah.”

“Don’t even think about making a move on my girl again. Got it?” Before Layne’s rebuttal, Hartley guides us out the bar to wait outside for the rideshare. Once we’re in the car, I finally have the words to speak on the bizarre night.

“Thank you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for. Let’s not give him another breath, okay?” He squeezes my hand and rubs his rough thumb back and forth across my skin. His jaw is still firmly set in a tense position, indicating that he’s reeling from seeing my ex.

“Hart,” I breathe out, gripping his hand a little tighter, but he doesn’t look my way. He still stares out the window, stuck inside his own head. “Hartley, look at me.”

He jolts from his view of our college town back to me in the dimly lit rideshare. “Are you okay?” He searches my eyes for any indication of pain or worry, but he finds none.

“Yes,” I continue in an attempt to free him from whatever barriers he’s hiding behind. “The real question is, are you?”

“I will be.”

We pull up to his apartment and he guides me out the car on his side.

The darkness of night caves in around us and light drizzle of midnight rain hit my charged skin.

The random rideshare driver leaves without a word and my feet feel like bricks planted on the damp cement.

Hartley clamps his hand over mine and lightly tugs to usher me up the stairs, but my body refuses to move.

His head darts back as he takes his hat off and runs his fingers through his long blonde hair.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Snapping you out of your trance.” My hands grip his broad shoulders and gently massages into his tense muscles. The rain drips from the ends of my hair as it mats to my forehead. My shoes squish with water as I shift my weight back and forth never removing my eyes off of his. “He means nothing.”

“I. . .” His eyes fill with passion and a million emotions swirling around at once.

“He hurt you.” He pulls me closer, now flush against his wet chest. “I wasn’t there to protect you.

You looked. . .” inhaling a deep breath, he shakes his head and continues, “scared.” His voice breaks in pain all geared to me, standing in front of him.

“He can’t hurt me anymore, Hart,” I whisper. “I handled him.”

“I should have been there to protect you,” he snaps.

My hand moves to his soaked hair. My fingers run through the front of it all the way through the tips by the base of his ear.

“You’ve done more for me these past few months than anyone has ever done.

” My fingers trace his lips wiping droplets of water off with each pull.

“I trust you. I didn’t think I would ever trust another man again. ”

His mouth opens to respond, but before he can, I cut in to say what’s been on my heart for weeks, “And I love you so much it hurts.” Before I know it, his lips crash into mine as he grips the base of my neck and runs his hand up to the back of my head.

This kiss is unlike any I’ve experienced with him.

It’s hungry, passionate, and all encompassing.

It’s like he can’t get enough. I can’t, either. I never will.

He pulls away, only inches, and cups my chin tenderly. “I’ve loved you for a long time, Goldie.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whisper.

“You needed time.” He bites gently on my lower lip, his eyes are just slits as he takes in the moment. “I needed you to come to me.”

“I don’t think there was ever a time where I could resist falling into you. Even when I fought it.”

“Are you done fighting it?” He smirks as he leans his forehead on mine.

“Yeah, Hart. I’m done fighting it.”