Page 63 of Clueless Romeo

CJ's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know. No?"

No. Before I could jump to conclusions, I needed clarification. "Help me out here. Which one is it? No, you don't want to date in secret? Or no, you don't want to date at all?"

"I don't understand." He rolled his lips together. "Are you asking to take this thing between us public?"

"I'm not saying no. But are you ready for that?" I questioned. "What about Caleb and your family?"

If he said yes, I had to agree if I wanted to keep him. Claiming CJ publicly both excited and terrified me.

His ice-blue eyes grew resolved, and he nodded. "I think I'm ready to let everyone know, and it might be easier if I had you there."

There. As in by his side doing the same thing. I swallowed hard. "Okay."

"Okay?" he asked in surprise, which was clear by the way his eyes widened. "You're serious?"

I shrugged one shoulder. "If it means you're mine, then I'm about as serious as a heart attack."

CJ stepped forward slowly, one foot in front of the other until we stood nose to nose. His breath coasted over my lips as he breathed the one word I'd needed to hear. "Yes."

And then he kissed me, and all worry bled away as I wrapped an arm around him, yanking him close until there was no space between us. His body against mine drove me crazy, and I gave my cock full permission to join the party. Not that I had a choice while CJ's lips were on mine.

But it wasn't enough. I wanted more. Tilting my head, I deepened the kiss, groaning low in my throat when he parted his plush lips for me. I needed him in my bed.Now.

My hands ran down CJ's back, lowering to his perfect ass, squeezing—

"What in the actual fuck?" The whisper might as well have been a gunshot when it reached my ears. I stiffened, and CJ froze at the sound of his twin's voice.

We whipped around to face CJ's mirror image, who stood with his jaw dropped and eyes wide. Christa stood at his side, not saying a word as we all stared at each other.

Caleb's eyebrows scrunched together. "I repeat, what in the actualfuck?"

"Caleb, I was going to tell you…" CJ paused, sucking in a deep breath and squaring his shoulders. "Roman and I—"

"I gotta go," I blurted, tearing my gaze away from Caleb and not meeting CJ's eyes. The urge to bolt gripped me, panic sending my flight instinct into overdrive. I knew what CJ had been about to say, and I hadn't even had time to prepare myself for our new reality. I choked out, "I'm sorry. I just—"

"Get the fuck out," CJ whispered. I froze at the venom in his voice even though my brain was screaming to bail on the situation. The ache in CJ's voice was tearing me apart, but I didn't say a word as my feet refused to move. "God dammit. Get the fuck out, Roman." His voice was louder this time, cutting through the silence with a finality that tightened my chest.

But I didn't argue, and I didn't put up a fight. Like a fucking asshole, and a coward, I pulled the door open and strode out onto the porch, gasping for fresh air.

I'd fucking left. He'd told me to—demandedit—but I knew I was making a mistake that would haunt me even as I raced next door. I grabbed my keys, sprinted out into the backyard, and climbed into my beat-up truck. I gripped the wheel tight, staring through the window. I was leaving CJ to face this on his own when he'd just told me he wanted me by his side when he came out.

Fuck. I hit the steering wheel, self-loathing swimming in my veins. I didn't deserve him. I knew I wasn't cut out for this shit. I'd let my sister and Mrs. Walden make me think for one second that I could be what someone needed. I'd just proved them both wrong by hurting someone I loved.

And I fucking loved CJ. The realization hit me hard, knocking the breath from my lungs. I needed to escape and could only think of one place to go.

Cranking the engine, I backed away from the house and pulled out into the alleyway. With every inch I drove away from CJ, the wrongness of what I was doing coiled in my gut. But if I went back, I wasn't sure what I'd do. Probably have another panic attack, which would only worsen the situation.

I needed to figure it out. I'd already made a complete shit show of a scene, and who knew if CJ would ever forgive me. I couldn't blame him if he didn't. I was officially the worst person I knew, and didn't recognize myself as I peeled out onto the main road.

Jazmine lived in a shoebox first-floor apartment on the outskirts of Atlanta. As I drove along the busy streets, I barely registered the other cars or buildings I passed by. I was lost in thoughts of the way CJ had looked at me, hurt and anger so deep it rocked me to my core. When her building came into view, I almost missed the entrance, turning at the last second with the sound of a car's horn blaring behind me. I needed to get off the road because I had no business driving in my current state.

As the sun began to set on the horizon, I circled around the amber-lit parking lot and found an empty space near her unit. Jazmine's car was parked outside, and I was relieved because I hadn't even thought to call first, and I had nowhere else to go.

Staring at the three-story, red-brick building with white trim, I hesitated to get out because Jazmine would probably slap me for what I'd just done to CJ. But wasn't that why I was here? Not to get slapped, but I needed to talk it out because I wanted CJ. I just wasn't sure I was good for him, especially now.

Sighing, I turned off the engine and slid out of my truck, shoving my keys into my pocket.

The landscape was scattered with well-kept flower beds, and I walked past evergreen plants that would burst with colorful blooms in a few short months. A door shut somewhere, and a TV blared from one of the floors above as I entered the breezeway to apartment three-oh-one.

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