Page 77 of Bad Blood

“A couple days. Why?”

“Liam shouldn’t come to his appointments alone.” I twist the ring on my pinkie finger before pulling my thumbnail to my mouth.

“Be honest with yourself. You’d miss me.”

“Are you always this arrogant?”

“I prefer the term confident. Maybe you’ll remember how you recognize me next time we run into each other.” He joins the crowd and crosses the street, continuing to walk backward in the opposite direction of where I’m headed, a smug look on his face.

A car parks on the side of the street where Dax is headed, running into the curb with its tires and catching my attention. The person seated behind tinted windows watches him for a second too long before turning right at the light. I let the absurdity of it roll off my back. I’m sure this isn’t the same white car as it was seconds before. Why am I letting things go to my head?

“Is that a challenge?” I holler after him as he retreats.

“I don’t think you have it in you.”

“Dare to make a wager on that?”

He grins. “It’d be worth a couple of points. You could take the lead.”

“Deal.”

He winks.

And I melt.

22

Every Little Detail

Dax

Wednesday, May 31 st

9:35 p.m.

Whoever said out of sight, out of mind is a fucking lunatic. There’s a good chance I crossed a line, and there’s no turning back. A part of me feels guilty. Brighton is Liam’s doctor, and she’s off-limits, but a bigger part of me is pretending that information doesn’t exist.

There’s no way I would jeopardize Liam getting the best treatment possible. And that means there’s no way I can pursue anything with Brighton despite having her number taunting me from my phone.

There’s no loophole.

She’s a no.

Hard pass.

Once I get to our apartment, I opt for the stairs. I need something to take my mind off her, and I’m not ready for Liam’s interrogation, and with the lapse in time, he’s going to be suspicious.

The first ten floors are easy. The following six kill me. I pause with my hands on my knees, my lungs screaming. Weights are not all they’re cracked up to be.

Need.

To.

Work.

On.

Cardio.

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