Page 7 of Bully (Fall Away #1)
Briar sits her glass down on the table beside her and pulls the blanket draped over her lap up to her chin. “Listen. All I’m saying is that the guy needs someone to love him. He needs to let loose. He deserves you. You deserve him, and I think that he knows that too. He’s just a little scared.”
Biting my cheek, I close my eyes.
I do want him. I want him bad. But I’m not as confident as I somehow pretended to be back at his place tonight.
I’m nervous. I never know if I’m good enough. I still don’t even know if he really likes me. I feel like until I hear it from his own lips, I’m never going to know.
But there’s something about Emmett Gardner that just makes me want to be all of that. Confident, happy, successful.
It’s like all of my doubts in my head are silenced when he’s around. It’s not that I think I need a man to make me confident, or that he’ll complete me. None of that bullshit.
But as someone who lived much of my life with a hole in my heart that belonged to a man who was supposed to be proud of me, hearing, well,anyonesay it helps.
And it really helps when it’s someone I value a lot.
And I value a hell of a lot about Emmett.
I’m knocked out of my thoughts by a bang on the door, and Mila jumps off the couch to answer it.
“Who thefuckallowed that absoluteidiotonto the team? Why couldn’t they have just done us all a favor and traded him last year?” Amara’s voice immediately booms from the entrance.
“What did Cooper do now?” Isla calls.
Amara appears around the wall, tossing her light coat on top of the coat rack. She rolls her eyes. “What didn’t he do? Why is he even talking to me?”
Briar’s eyes meet mine, questions swirling in them. I shrug.
There’s been some weird thing between Amara and Cooper for a long time, and none of us really know exactly what it stems from. Amara will only tell us what stupid shit he says now, but won’t fill us in on why she hates him so much to begin with.
“Well, come sit. We have drinks and we’re teaching Heidi how to blitz Emmett.”
Amara makes a face. “What does that even mean?”
“I’m supposed to just overwhelm him apparently,” I fill her in.
“Ah. I mean, you have great tits.” She forms anowith her pointer finger and thumb, winking at me.
Mila is already mixing her a drink in the kitchen. Amara stands on the other side of the island watching her with anticipation. “Joking aside I think it’s a good idea. Fuck, I don’teven know the guy and I know he’s a hard head. Who wouldn’t want you?”
My lips tighten. I mean, plenty of people wouldn’t. Plenty of peoplehaven’t.
“Are you guys sure? I feel like my daddy issues are in full force sometimes.”
Isla shakes her head, her bun flopping with the motion. “Daddy issues are usually just an excuse for men to be shitty to women. Being nervous about a guy you like liking you back isn’t daddy issues, and don’t let anyone make you feel bad about that,” she scolds. “Daddy issues would be you finding an eighty-year-old man to fuck for money.”
Briar side-eyes her. “I don’t think I’d consider that daddy issues, I think that’s smart.”
Mila gasps from behind us, and we turn. “What?” she asks.
Briar puts up her hands. “I’m just saying! Listen. I’m in a perfectly happy relationship. But I’ve been in really fucking shitty ones, but,” she points to herself, “I literally started fake dating Leo because he promised he’d pay for Elara’s college. I have absolutelynoroom to talk at all.”
Isla narrows her eyes. “Plus, you had a perfectly healthy relationship with your dad. If a man told you that you have daddy issues they need a swift kick in the nuts.”
A man did tell me that. Multiple men, actually. The second they hear my dad died they expect me to have daddy issues.
“Men love daddy issues because it benefits the patriarchy. They expect you to have low self-esteem because of it. Instead, you have low self-esteem for some other reason that doesn’t make sense because you’re absolutely kick-ass and deserve the entire world,” Amara says, still standing by the island.
I know they’re all right. Of course they are.
