Page 24 of Unwritten Rules (The Sunburnt Hearts #1)
Silence stretches between us as the song fades out, replaced with MGK’s “I Think I’m OKAY”.
My fingers drum on the steering wheel, head nodding with the beat of the drums. Headlights from oncoming cars illuminate the space, casting bright shadows over Tatum’s features.
The further we drive into Mosman, the more my heart sinks.
I like having Tatum in my space, which isn’t something I can say about most people, especially women.
But something about Tatum has me wanting to explore her deeper, to see what she’s really like and if she is someone I can trust.
“How’d you enjoy Townsville over the weekend?” The question reveals itself easily, filling the small space.
Tatum glances over at me, searching my side profile. “It was fun. I vaguely recall your buddy Khai being dared to run naked down the hallway of the hotel by Axel, and let’s just say Dad was pissed.”
I snort a laugh, the image far too clear in my head despite my not being there. “One thing you’ll learn about Khai is the man has no shame. Zero. You ask him to do the most embarrassing shit on the planet, and he’ll do it without hesitation and a goofy grin.”
Tatum laughs, the sound soft and sweet. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Because it shouldn’t. He’s a nutcase.”
“A nutcase whose ass I saw flying past my room at one in the morning.”
I grimace, knuckles bleaching around the steering wheel.
I should smack him upside the head for putting her in that position.
She shouldn’t have to be subjected to that kind of thing from the guys, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t there to stop it.
I was sat in the apartment fighting the urge to go down to the bottle shop to grab myself the biggest bottle of bourbon I could get my hands on, just to give myself something to do.
Instead, I had jumped on Khai’s computer, hoping he wouldn’t notice I touched his things.
“I apologise on his behalf,” I settle on saying. “He’s an idiot, but I guess he’s my idiot.”
“How well do you know each other?”
I exhale a long breath. “Where do I start? We’ve been friends since we could walk.
Our parents were neighbours before we moved a few streets away.
After high school, when we joined the reserve team and were in uni getting our degrees in sports science, we couldn’t bear being apart, so we found an apartment and moved in. ”
Tatum hums. “So, he’s your best friend?”
“The one and only.”
“That’s sweet.” After a moment, she says, “You’re chattier this time around.”
I raise a brow at her. “How so?”
“Well, the night we met, you weren’t too keen on answering my questions, but now you seem a little more open to sharing details of yourself with me.”
I exhale sharply and run a hand through my hair. It’s unnerving how well she can read me, and pick up on subtle cues I don’t realise I do. “I was a dick that night, I’ll admit. I was tired and needed to blow off some steam.”
“I could tell,” Tatum comments, voice gentle. “Do you need to do that a lot? Blow off steam?”
I drag my bottom lip between my teeth, and nod. “It was worse because I was injured and couldn’t hit the gym like I normally would. So I apologise for how I spoke to you.”
“No need to apologise. I think you might recall that I rather enjoyed it.”
My pulse jackhammers at the base of my throat, and I fight the urge to reach across the console and touch her.
“I think it’s safe to say we both enjoyed that night.” My voice is thick and words low, setting off the fire licking in my veins.
Tatum hums, the sound doing nothing to ease the warmth blooming in my chest. This woman is too much.
She has somehow embedded herself into my skin, and like a cat trying to get rid of fleas, I can’t seem to shake her, no matter how hard I try.
She’s in my head when she shouldn’t be, and my body craves her at the most inappropriate times.
I shouldn’t want her—nor am I allowed to, courtesy of her father—but my mind and heart haven’t quite gotten the memo yet.
The Navman tells me I have arrived at the destination, and the car crawls to a stop out the front of a house similar to that of my parents. Its modern exterior is hidden in the depths of the shadows, and trees line the property, making it difficult to get a visual of the rest of it.
My eyes sweep across to Tatum, who is already looking at me. I exhale a long breath, needing to choose my words wisely, because when I’m with her, I’m nothing but a fucking mess. Before I can get the words out, Tatum beats me to the punch.
“Thank you for the lift home.” Her voice is warm, wrapping around me like a gentle hug. “I appreciate it.”
“It’s no problem at all,” I squeeze out, chest tight.
Tatum’s hand lingers on the door handle, her back to me. Seconds later, her eyes appear over her shoulder, soft irises melting into mine. “And if you ever need to blow off steam or get out of the house, listening to music and driving the streets does wonders.”
I raise a brow, caught off guard by her words. “You’ve done it before?”
“Barrenridge only allows so many activities before you’re bored shitless.
My friends and I used to do it a lot in high school, and I found it was a great way to calm whatever turmoil I had going on with exams or personal issues.
” Tatum shrugs, the movement breezy. “If you ever find yourself in need of quiet company and a killer playlist, you have my number.”
And then she’s gone. Just like that.
My eyes track her path up the sidewalk, stopping in front of a white door before slipping inside. A soft orange glow from the light on the porch illuminates her enough that I see her wave goodbye before closing the door, disappearing from sight.
I close my eyes and drop my head against the headrest, the palms of my hands digging into my eyes.
I don’t know what just happened, but being with Tatum does something to my heart that’s foreign and fucking terrifying. Her sweet voice and even sweeter smile are enough to bring me to my knees, as pathetic as that sounds.
What are you doing to me, strawberry?
God, I’m so fucked.
It’s getting increasingly more difficult to stay away from her. My heart is at war with Coach Phil’s warning, and to my surprise, the instructions to steer clear of his daughter are being drowned out by the way my heart fucking beats for her.