Page 43 of Twink Heart

?“Hardwood Beach obviously. Boner Beach is the only place to celebrate.”

?He smiled. Not just a grin or a smirk, but a full on fucking smile. My heart started to pound and my chest swelled with pride.

?“That sounds perfect,” he said. “Let’s get takeout and go have a picnic.”

?Now I was really worried. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

?He reached over, placing his hand on the side of my face, his thumb stroking the line of my jaw. “I don’t think I’ve ever been better.”

?I smiled, leaning into his touch. This was a side to Rowan I’d never seen before, but I liked it. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see him smile like this.

?Thirty minutes later we arrived at the beach with a bag full of Chinese food, which was Rowan’s favorite. He backed the SUV up so the trunk faced the beach, popped the tailgate, and carried me to the back just like the previous morning when we watched the storm roll in. But this time it was the middle of the afternoon and the beach was packed. And to my surprise, he didn’t flinch away from me when other people turned their gazes in our direction. In fact, he seemed to swell with pride.

?I’d never seen such a rapid transformation in a person before. It was like I didn’t even know him.

?We got comfortable, unpacked the food, and just after we took our first bite, Rowan sat his down on the trunk floor and looked my way.

?“I’m sure you’re probably wondering why I asked you out here,” he began.

?“Actually, I’m sort of wondering if you’ve snapped and if you’re going to skin me and wear me like a coat.”

?“You’re not my size,” he grinned. “And the lambs are still screaming.”

?“Good movie reference.”

?“Thanks.”

?“So what is going on?” I asked, putting my food aside as well. “You seem like a brand new person today. And after the way I treated you yesterday, well I wasn’t expecting such a warm reception.”

?He took a deep breath. “Mia messaged me today.”

?My eyebrows shot up. “Your ex-girlfriend? What did she want?”

?“She wanted me to come back home.”

?The surprise I felt turned to icy dread in an instant. So that’s why he was smiling. He’d been offered his old life back on a silver platter and he was being nice to me so he didn’t feel bad about leaving. I’d seen it a million times before. Dudes took me out on nice dates after using me for sex just to let me know they didn’t want to see me again.

?“When are you leaving?” I asked, my hunger forgotten as I stared out over the sand.

?“Leaving?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. “Why would I leave?”

?“You’re going home to her, aren’t you? You can have your old life back. I know that’s what you’ve wanted.” He opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off. “It’s okay. I mean, it kind of sucks, but I understand. I know all this new stuff has been really hard for you, so it only makes sense you want to be comfortable and happy. And that’s okay.”

?I started to push myself up, but he grabbed my arm, holding me in place.

?“James,” he said sternly. “Sit down.”

?There was that dominance again and of course, I complied immediately.

?“Let me explain.”

?“There’s nothing to explain…”

?“I’m not going back.”

?I opened my mouth to keep talking, but stopped as his words sunk in. “W-What?”

?“I’m not going back to her.”

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