Page 51 of Four Times Taken

"Tell you what. I heard about this weekly fair happening in the next town," I said.

She nodded as if she'd heard of it too.

"What if we all go, hang out, have fun? Even you too, Mrs. Thornbread." I leaned down to smile at her, as if it's possible to gauge her response. I had to say, she didn't look so pale or deathly today. She looked less like the grim reaper and more human-like beneath the wide brim of her soft, light-blue hat. She had color in her cheeks, and her skin glowed. Still, sadness lurked behind her eyes.

Lily squirmed.

"Come on," I encouraged. "You know we're well equipped to take some of the burden off you while you have some fun."

"Why do you care whether I have fun or not?" she asked.

"I told you. I want us to be friends." I smiled.

"Friends?" she repeated, enunciating her pronunciation of the word while looking me in the eyes and tilting her head.

Something told me she overheard us, but she's pretending otherwise. "Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something?" I asked.

"Me?" she scoffed, her tone pitching up. She smiled in a way that said I'm the last person who should talk about hiding anything. Oh, she definitely knew. Now my cheeks heated. This was so awkward. Still, I couldn't help but laugh, and she did as well, confirming my suspicions.

"So, is that a yes to the fair? I promise we'll be on our best behavior." I rested my hand over my heart.

"I don't know..." She scrunched her face, but before she could come up with an excuse, I intervened.

"Okay, maybe you don't want to have fun, but what about your mother? Doesn't she deserve a fun day out?" I bargained.

"The heat, screaming kids..." she started.

"Life, excitement, laughter, ice cream, cotton candy, snow cones, and there's an adult section with more extreme rides. I'm sure she'd enjoy watching you scream for your life on one of those," I finished for her.

She grinned. "And you guys will be on your best behavior?"

My abs-free stomach clenched. She'd just confirmed we're the reason she broke things off with Eric. Ouch.

Nodding, I reassured her, "I promise. I'm just offering a hand of friendship. Don't let us stand in the way of you and Eric."

She took a deep breath, her smile weakening. But she raised her head to look me in the eye and nodded. "Okay."

Chapter 34

Eric

So, I lost the game. But it's only because of the sweat stinging my eyes. I'm fine in the ocean with salt water, but my own body's salt water is too much for me to handle. Go figure.

Rinsing the sting from my eyes with cold water as the other guys on the court jeered me for hyping myself up too much, I spotted Matt and Lily leaning up against the wire fence. At first, I didn't know who he was talking to. I thought he was just shooting his shot at a hot girl because his body was shielding Mrs. Thornbread and her wheelchair. But then, I saw that the hot girl was Lily. My Lily.

Oh, he better not have been shooting his shot at her. I'm okay with sharing, not with snatching. Jumping up from the concrete seats which were also hot as hell, I made my way over to them. Ethan pulled his damp shirt off his face in time to see me. He jumped up from his reclined position.

"Hey, where are you...? Oh." He must have spotted Lily as his words trailed off.

Ryan turned around to look at us, red sports drink perched at his lips. He almost dropped the bottle when he saw Lily. Damn, he could've been a little bit more subtle than that. He fell into step behind us, and we marched toward them like the three stooges. My heart galloped at the sight of her.

The last few weeks, I've been trying to find my peace without her, respecting her wishes, deciding not to fight for her if she's not willing to fight for me, but I'll be damned if I let one of my best friends snatch her up from right underneath me, or worse, proposition her to group sex, revealing to her that I said I was okay with it. I don't want her to think I don't value her and as I stalked toward them, I'm reassured that my love and value of her is as bountiful as ever, regardless of my being okay with sharing her. Because my belly was doing that flip-flop flutter thing, and I'm nervous over what her response would be when I butt into their conversation. Still, Matt has more tact than that, even if my hormones are telling me otherwise.

When my eyes caught onto hers, I watched her cheeks turn crimson, and her eyes darkened with desire. My pounding heartbeat settled into a steady drum. She still felt something for me. That's good. It would've been nice if she had reached out and said something, but that doesn't matter right now.

"Hey, Lily." I smiled when I got close enough. "Mrs. Thornbread," I acknowledged.

Matt jumped away from both of them like the place between them caught on fire. I locked my eyes onto his with a warning. He shook his head, smirking.

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