Page 94 of Getting Over You

He brings his face close to mine, spearmint breath tickling my nose. “Good,” he whispers.

He kisses my forehead, then my nose. I catch myself pouting, wishing he’dkiss mekiss me. Just once.

Cade sits up. I frown, and he has the audacity to chuckle at me. “That’s how I want you.”

Oh yeah,I think as he leaves the room, telling me he needs to talk to EJ.This is definitely more than casual.

Chapter thirty

Ifeel bad about not staying with Gigi until she falls asleep. But damn, she was after me. And for the first time, I have no desire to see that perfect body. At least naked, anyway. She looked hot in my T-shirt. I’ve never let a girl wear my T-shirt.

That’s rule number one: you give them clothes, they think they’re coming back.

That’s why I froze up. The way I felt in that moment was plain to see: I didn’t want her to go. Iwantto keep her with me. Iwanther to keep all my T-shirts if she wants them.

But I need her to understand I am incapable of being what she desires so desperately.

A heartless guy can’t simplychange.The way I felt in there with Gigi just now made me feel as though I have.

That’s how I know this has to stop. And it has to stop soon.

“That was intense,” Rory says as I shut my bedroom door and meet her and EJ in the living room. I sit on the loveseat, crossing my arms over my chest. “Is she doing okay?”

“She took a shower. She’s asleep now, though.”

“You stayed until she fell asleep,” EJ says, an edge to his tone. “Cade. Dude.”

“I know,” I say flatly. “I’ve taken care of her all night. I wasn’t about to leave her alone to cry herself to sleep.”

“I heard her laughing,” Rory points out. “You clearly did something right.”

“I make her happy,” I say to no one in particular. “That scares me.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Big deal, you have feelings for her. Act on them.”

I guffaw. “No.”

“And why the hell not?”

“I could say the same to you dumbasses,” I tell Rory and EJ.

Rory flushes. “This isn’t about me, you fuck.”

“The point is, nothing can happen between Gigi and me.”

“So, what now? Do you break up with her?” EJ asks.

I give him a look. “I tell her our… thing is over with. That I can tell she’s catching feelings, and it’s in her best interest and mine if we cut our losses. She’s a reasonable girl. She’ll understand.”

EJ’s eyes darken. “Why are you making that sound easy for you?”

“Because it is.”

Rory’s eyes narrow. She juts her chin. “I don’t know. You’re in for it, Cade. You’re going to absolutely crush her.”

“I’ve spent the summer helping her be okay with casual,” I tell them. “We’ve been gearing up for this.”

“And she,” Rory points out, “has been teaching you how to love her the whole time, you fucking idiot. I could tell she was lying through her teeth the day she told me she could totally have sexwith you, with any rando from here, and not feel something. She did that to impress you. She thought that’s what you wanted.”

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