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I arch an eyebrow at him. “Whatever will we do in that time?”
His expression turns wicked and I’m all in.
I can’t get enough of him. Even now, eating and feeling more than a little sore, I want him again. He’d ordered pizza and I’m happy to dig in. I love that he can be my date for an upscale sushi place, or my lounge and eat greasy pizza companion.
He catches my glance, and his expression darkens with lust. “Stop that. You drive me crazy.”
I can’t hold back a smile. Something about knowing that he wants me as desperately as I want him is just good for the soul. We can face the tough stuff later. Right now, I simply want to enjoy this time.
We both glance over as his phone rings. He glances at it, then stands, lifting one finger in the universal just a minute gesture before answering. His voice is hushed as he steps out of the room.
My heart pounds painfully behind my ribs, and I try to sooth the part of me that’s screaming that something is wrong.
“Everything okay?” I ask when he comes back in a few moments later.
He won’t even look at me, and his voice is falsely positive as he answers. “Yeah, just my mom checking in.”
“Your... mom?” I ask, feeling hope and concern mingling together.
He nods. “We’re... talking.”
I can’t quash the hope that springs up even more within me. Maybe I’d helped start them on the path to healing. We settle in and eat our pizza while watching some trash TV neither of us really care about. He rubs my bare leg absentmindedly with one hand, his expression fixed on something far away as he eats.
His motions are as mechanical as I feel, and I can’t stand it anymore. “Are you glad to be talking to her again? Is it positive?”
He hesitates before answering. “Yeah. I guess so.”
But I’m worried. I can feel it in every fiber of my being. There’s something going on.
As we finish up our pizza, my phone buzzes.
“Ooo, mom’s texting me,” I say, opening the message. She’d told me to go, she wanted to spend some time with May, who’d come to visit.
Alex is home, and weirdly happy. I read the words out loud.
“Maybe something good happened,” Fredrick suggests with a nonchalant shrug.
“Maybe,” I say, feeling suspicious.
Fredrick pulls me into his arms, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. I can’t help the feeling that he’s trying to distract me from whatever is going on. And for a moment, it works. I get lost in the sensation of his lips on mine, his shoulders under my hands.
But as soon as he pulls away, the worry comes rushing back.
Something is definitely wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fredrick
I watch Lila as she shoves the last bite of her pizza in her mouth. She glances at me and smiles, covering her face with her hand. She’s too adorable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks, the corners of her eyes crinkling.
I want to kiss her so badly, more than anything, but there's something more pressing that needs to be said. It's time to face the truth, tell her what's going on and see what she wants to do.
I pick up the TV remote and turn off the set before facing her, worried about how she's going to react to this news.
I notice the tension in her body, as if she's prepared for whatever is coming next.
