Page 22 of Semi-Rejected Life

So, once my clothes were on, I slipped on my shoes and left the apartment without a word. My brain was still muddled, but some time at the beach would fix that. Besides, as soon as I stepped outside I noticed the wind had picked up considerably. Maybe, if I was lucky, the waves would be big enough to surf.

I needed the escape.

???

Luck held out and by the end of the afternoon, I’d surfed enough to exhaust myself from head to toe. I practically crawled back to my van and pulled the back doors open. I didn’t think twice about flopping onto the bed in the back. It was still covered in sand from the day id met Vincent. I made a mental note to have it cleaned, but as I turned over and smelled his scent coming through the sheets, I forgot that mental note and just enjoyed it. A little sand never hurt anyone, anyway.

But while I was on the subject of Vincent, maybe I should check in and see how he was doing. I’d gone out of my way to avoid talking to him. I didn’t want to seem overly attentive. After all, it wasn’t like anything could happen between us and I was already dangerously close to overstepping that boundary. Something about him just made it too easy to get attached and that couldn’t happen. So I’d kept myself busy. But nearly eight hours was enough distance, right? Of course it was.

At least that’s what I told myself.

However, when I picked up my phone, I noticed there was already a message from him waiting for me. Seems like he’d missed me a bit more than he let on this morning. And if I was being honest, seeing his name on my phone screen gave me butterflies in my stomach.

Vincent: Sorry I had to kick you out so fast this morning. Hopefully it didn’t bother you. I wanted you to stay, but you know how work is. I had a really good time last night. Probably the best I’ve ever had… you’re a good guy :)

I stared at his message in surprise. It was surprisingly sweet, open, and personal. It reminded me of the first time I met Vincent. Since then he’d become sort of cold, but obviously something about our night together had him softening up. But as the butterflies rose in my stomach again, a tinge of panic swept through me.

Liking Vincent wasn’t an option. All these warm fuzzy feelings were nice right now, but in a few weeks they were going really fucking suck. The last thing I wanted to do was go home with a broken heart so I could spend the rest of my life yearning for someone I could never have. Vincent wasn’t worth giving up my entire future for, right? Nobody could be worth that…

At least that’s what I told myself as I started to type.

Me: No problem. Last night was fine. Glad you had fun.

I hit the send button before I lost my nerve. Being cold wasn’t really my forte. But I had to be brave about this and put up my icy walls. It was what was best for Vincent and myself.

His next message followed quickly.

Vincent: Cool. Well let me know if I’m worth your time again. The dick was tolerable, so I guess I could do it again if you want.

Me: Sure. I’ll hit you up when I have free time again.

Vincent: Yep.

There was a tightness in my chest that I wasn’t used to feeling. His reaction told me he understood my coldness and he fed it right back. Even after all that, he was still interested, which was hard to believe. Now I just had to reign myself in and not end up in his bed again tonight. I desperately wanted to kiss him again, but I had to be aloof. I had to resist him.

But I couldn’t force myself to be a total dick.

Me: I did have fun. It was a good night.

Vincent: Right.

Well, I couldn’t blame him for being upset. If it was me on the other end of the phone, I would’ve been pissed too. I’d probably be lucky if I ever saw him again.

No pizza for dinner tonight I guess. Instead, I guess I’d just stay at the hotel and have whatever Sam was making for dinner. It wasn’t like there was anything else to do in this tiny town after dark.

Maybe, if I was feeling squirrely, I’d sneak out after dark and go for a run in wolf form. At least that would give me a break from the hum-drum of human life.

But nothing, not even an animal brain, was going to get me to forget about Vincent.

Chapter Eleven: Vincent

It had been three days since I’d texted River.

The ball was in his court and I would not be the one to beg for him to come back. However, that didn’t stop me from waking up every single morning so fucking hard that it hurt. I still hadn’t washed my sheets because I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of his scent. Not only that, but it was sort of nice to bury my face in the pillows that smelled like him while I fingered myself to completion in the morning. And that’s exactly what I’d done before I hopped in the shower and got ready to enjoy my day off.

Of course, I’d hoped River would text me so I could spend the entire day with his cock in my ass. But since he was too uninterested to message me back, I figured I might as well go enjoy the day on my own. At the very least, I planned on getting good coffee, good food, and spending some time doomscrolling through social media until I felt bad about myself. Which honestly, probably wouldn’t take long.

After a quick shower, I threw on a comfy hoodie despite it being over eighty degree outside, and headed for the coffee shop. Andy had been bugging me every single day for an update on things. Of course, he was thrilled to hear that I’d gotten laid. In fact, he seemed more excited about it than I did at times. But he was eager to see what would happen next. Considering River hadn’t messaged me in three days, I figured it was safe to say that ship had sailed.

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