Page 88 of Lost in the Current of You

And one kiss became two, and two into three before I hooked my arm around his shoulder, bringing him closer as his hands framed my face in a firm hold, keeping me close.

I didn’t want this to be the last time, but the moment was over before I knew it, as he pulled away, whispering my name between his lips.

I sighed, keeping my eyes closed for a moment, my arm sliding off his shoulder as his forehead came down onto mine, pressing it there before pulling away so excruciatingly slow.

I wished I had a rewind button.

I sat up, looking ahead off the cliff, watching the city lights turn on and buzz below us. Dark clouds seemed to slowly roll closer in the distance, a storm brewing like the one between Reece and I.

I could see Reece chewing on his bottom lip from the corner of my eye as he dragged his hand through his hair.

I swallowed, trying my hardest to build a wall between myself and my emotions.

“I never meant for any of this to happen,” he whispered, not once looking at me.

His words made me angry. I frowned and turned to look at him. “And what did you mean to happen, Reece? What did you expect when you first kissed me?”

He swallowed and shook his head. “I don’t know. I just…” He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. “You were all I thought about. Through the days after I met you at the river, I wished for time to go faster just so I could see you sooner, and when I was with you, I wanted to pause time. After the week at Airlie Beach, it was like when we first met again, how we just clicked and I couldn’t seem to keep myself away from you. I wanted to spend every moment I could with you. But I knew it was wrong, and I was betraying Liam and Nate by getting closer to you. I just wanted something for myself. You made me happy, and I hadn’t truly felt that in a while.”

He still wouldn’t look at me, and my brows furrowed in confusion as I turned fully towards him, crossing my legs in front of me.

“So, if I make you happy, then what’s going on here? Why are you suddenly pulling away? Why ruin all of this, our friendship?” I said, desperation leaking through my words, wanting him to stop all of this.

He pinched his eyes closed and tilted his head back against the backseat, looking in pain. All he had to do was backtrack and say he was sorry, and I would have forgiven him. I would be in his arms, and we would be happy.

But he didn’t do any of that.

“Because Liam still loves you. I didn’t know he was in that deep with you, but he’s still hung up on you and I feel so fucking guilty.” His Adam’s apple bobbed before exhaling deeply. “And I can’t keep lying to my best friends.”

I exploded. I couldn’t keep silent anymore and all the pain and frustration poured out of me. “Then stop lying. Tell them. It’s as easy as that, Reece. You don’t have to cut me out just so you can keep this a secret. You’ll still be lying to them!”

He shook his head, keeping it leaned back on the seat behind us. “You don’t understand, Kody.”

“Then make me understand,” I pleaded, feeling it all slip through my fingers no matter how much I scrambled to catch a strand to hold onto.

“They’re my best friends?—”

“God dammit. So was I!” I yelled and his eyes blinked open with the noise, but still, he didn’t look at me.

It was a losing game, I knew it, but I couldn’t lose him. Not when he promised he would never let our friendship crumble.

He didn’t say anything for a moment as he worried his bottom lip and stared straight up at the roof of the car. And then he spoke. “I’m leaving after this baseball season.”

I stayed silent for a while, processing his words.

“Leaving?” I breathed as confusion laced my words.

He finally lifted his head and looked over at me, unshed tears lining his eyes, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to hold mine at bay.

“Yeah,” he whispered and cleared his throat. “I’ll be moving to Arizona to play in the minor leagues.”

“Arizona? As in, United States, Arizona?” My heart stopped altogether.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“Wow.” Even though my heart was breaking, I managed a small smile as my vision began to blur. Because I knew as much as he hated the pressure from his dad, this was his dream. To be able to escape the ridicule and finally be able to enjoy the sport he grew up loving. “I mean, congratulations.”

He nodded with a small twitch of his lips before his face fell flat and he continued to stare at me, guilt and pain shining in his eyes.

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