Page 60 of Joey

I huff a little air through my nose.

Find someone else.

Just like that.

But this is not his fault and it’s not his problem. This is my fault and my problem. I’m the one changing the rules in the middle of the game, not him.

It’s just… what he said back at the house. He wants Maisy to have something real.

That’s what I want too. I want this to be real. And it’s dumb. So stupid.

And right now my hesitation is stressing him out. Big time.

“I’m not going to ruin it,” I say.

“You’re sure. Look, if what just happened bothered you, then we won’t do that again, OK?”

“I’m fine,” I insist. “I don’t regret that. I really don’t.”

He lets out a long exhale. Like I’m finally saying the right things and he really wants to believe them. “So… dinner?” he says. “More pics? Maybe write some social posts?”

“Yeah,” I say, nodding my head.

“Then bed?” He grins.

“With you?”

“Of course,” he says.

“What?”

“You’re still mine first.” And when he smiles at me? God. I think I melt a little. Something inside me goes soft. “We’re in the middle of something, Brooke. Can you just… play along with me until I get what I need?”

I don’t have a single clue what that actually means. But I nod my head anyway. Try and freeze up my melting heart and stay focused on the job.

Because this is all I have. And even though I’ve had it just one day, I can’t imagine going back to my little apartment and never seeing them again.

It’s one of those moments that changes you forever.

“Good,” he says. “Tomorrow we’ll go pick out a ring, sign the papers for the house, then… I guess we’ll sleep there tomorrow.”

“And Wald and Huck?”

“I imagine they’re coming too.”

“And… what we did out there?”

“What about it?”

“Will we do it again?”

“Up to you, I guess.”

“I might want to,” I decide to admit.

“OK,” he says. “But… I kinda know those guys. So it’ll be Huck next.”

“Huck?”