Page 15 of Rousing Renee

Sampson was silent for a second. I knew he was pondering what I was asking.

“Do it. Clearly, she thought that it was okay to betray you, so I don’t understand your loyalty to her. Especially when you aren’t friends anymore and you don’t plan to go back to being friends.”

“I think it’s because I never wanted to stop being friends with her.”

“I understand that, but let’s keep it one hundred, diva. She undercut you so she would get the scholarship for cheerleading and not you. She had no desire to make it a career move, and she knew it. She did it because she didn’t want you to have it. When she graduated, she focused on modeling. When that didn’t work out for her, she became a content creator. None of that equates to cheerleading. Period.”

He had a point.

“Remove her as a factor, then tell me whether or not you’d want to go on a date with him tonight?”

I exhaled and could no longer run from the truth. “I do.”

“Then do it.”

“I also don’t want to send the wrong message by going over to his apartment late at night.”

“You said he agreed to take it slow, right?”

“He did.”

“Honey, you make the rules. You’re not in a committed relationship without control. Set your boundaries and let him know what they are. There’s a sweet way to do everything. You only have to figure out the details.”

Again… he was right.

“Okay.” I could do this.

“Mhm… so, tell me. What’s he look like?” He changed modes so easily, letting me know it was teatime.

Good thing I had lots to tell.

I knocked on the door, and Ezra answered shortly after.

“I didn’t think you would show,” he said immediately.

“Well, I’m not.” I exhaled and then took a deep breath to summon my willpower.

“Oh.”

“It’s late and I don’t want to give you the wrong idea. I was thinking that we could have lunch tomorrow instead. We can still eat roast and do whatever you had planned for tonight. I just prefer it be during reasonable hours.”

Ezra smiled. “Understandable. I’ll see you for lunch then.”

I nodded and began walking away.

“Can I walk you home?”

I thought about it, but it still seemed risky with my hormones demanding to be tried and fucked. “Where’s your phone?”

He pulled it from his pocket, unlocked it, and handed it over. I created a new text message and entered my phone number. I sent a dummy text so we’d have one another’s number.

“I’ll text you when I get there,” I proposed.

“Okay.” He leaned forward and pulled me in for a hug.

Safe. I felt it immediately when I was in his arms.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” I said as he pulled away.

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