Page 74 of Playing My Rivals

I turn to see her as much as I can. It’s too bad she’s driving because I would love to discuss this face-to-face. “Go on.”

“You were right when you said I’ve never told you how I feel. I thought I had by asking you how you felt about me. I assumed you knew that meant I had feelings for you.”

“It kind of did. I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to tell you so you could let me down easier.” I run my hand over my chin as I debate whether to say any more.

Fuck it.

It can’t hurt more than that kiss. “You have a magnetic pull that gets me every time I’m around you. I thought it made you uncomfortable.”

She sighs. “There is a magnetic attraction between us, but you run hot or cold. I didn’t want to be the first one to admit it’s more than that.”

“What is it, then?”

Come on, Dori. Enlighten me.

She gives me a sideways glance. “Are you done running hot or cold with me?”

My chest tightens. “Fuck, Dori. How can I answer that when I don’t know how you feel about me?”

“Honestly,” she states. “I care deeply for you in a romantic sense, and now you know. It’s hard for me because you start to go forward with me and then pull away. But before I go more into that, I want to know how you feel about me.”

Fucking stuck is what I am, so I shift to face the windshield. My heart lurches into my throat, threatening to jump out of my mouth and expose everything I feel for her.

Deep sighs escape me as I wrestle with telling her the vicious secret that’s my truth. The one thing that will cause me to lose my best friend.

Every time I open my mouth to tell her I love her and have for years, it slams shut before anything comes out. She patiently waits for my response and continues to drive up the mountain.

Is it time to tell her everything?

If I do, I’ll need to come clean with her about my past. But if I do that, there’s a good chance she’ll walk away, so what’s the point?

Then there’s Aiden. Always Aiden, whispering warnings in my ear.

The trees go by as we ascend to her majestic view of Mount Sopris. I can’t help but feel like I’m climbing a mountain of my own. It’s fucking brutal and I can’t wait until I get to the summit.

She turns on a playlist as I try to break out of the chains that have me bound. She’s not going to let me out of it this time. One way or another, she’s going to get what she wants. It shouldn’t surprise me. She always does.

I’m trapped inside this car and inside the web she weaved. I shake my head and growl under my breath, knowing I walked right into it the second I let her kiss me in the hot springs.

After forty minutes of me uncomfortably shifting around in my seat, fighting invisible demons, she finally pulls off the road onto a makeshift turnabout.

We’re parked in front of a meadow above the clouds. The sun is setting behind the mountains. Its rays make their way from the sky to the ground before us.

“Look. It’s exactly as I thought it would be.” She points to Mount Sopris in awe.

Clouds surround it like a moat. It’s a spectacular view of a dark green mountain behind a golden grass-filled meadow. The white peak silently commands attention.

She reaches over and rubs my leg. “It’s beautiful, just like our time together always is.”

Electricity zaps me, and I place my hand over hers. “Let’s get out and take it in. It’s too amazing to see behind the glass.”

“Picture time.” She grabs her phone and pushes the door open. “We’ve got to hurry before it gets dark.”

She’s out of the car before I can get my seatbelt off. My eyes stay glued on her as she prances into the meadow. She’s beaming without a care for how wet she’s getting from the rain.

I love it when she’s so playful. My heart squeezes and I know what I have to do.

We lose track of time taking pictures on our phones. She snaps one more right as I press my lips to the side of her gorgeous face. It takes her by surprise, but she laughs and checks out how the photo came out.

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