Page 97 of Light My Fire

“Hey, Brooke.” That’s all I manage at first.

I don’t know if she has my number programmed in. I don’t know if she’ll recognize my voice. But suddenly I don’t know what else to say.

“Hi,” she says softly.

My heart squeezes—as cheesy as that sounds—and my cock twitches, just from that one simple word.

“It’s Wyatt,” I say.

Her laugh is soft. “I know.”

I’m very glad she knows. I blow out a breath. “I maybe shouldn’t have called,” I say. “But I couldn’t resist anymore.”

She is quiet for a few seconds, then she asks, “Why would you when I asked you not to reach out?”

“Well, it’s not just a friendly call to say hi or to see how you are,” I say. “I mean, I really wanted to hear your voice. And I really want to hear how you are. But it’s more than that.”

My heart is hammering in my chest and my palms are actually sweating. I don’t think I have felt this way talking on the phone to a girl since I was thirteen or fourteen. Hell, maybe not even then. I’ve always been pretty confident with girls.

I’m just not sure any previous girl has meant as much as Brooke does to me now.

“Well, I’m good. Getting ready to start my clinical rotations in two weeks. My exams went really well, though I think I told you that. And I’m glad to hear your voice, too.”

I breathe out, relieved. “That’s awesome. I’m glad to hear all of that.”

“So what else is this call about?” she asks.

My heart thumps hard, and I swallow, but I am fucking saying this. Consequences be damned. “I want to see you. I can’t quit thinking about you. I have feelings for you, Brooke. Feelings I can’t get over. I really want to see you again. So I’m coming to Minneapolis. I have the plane tickets pulled up in front of me right now and I am ready to push the buy button. I just wanted to be sure that you’re not busy this weekend.”

I am definitely all for just showing up, but I’m trying to be respectful. I don’t have any idea what veterinary school is like, so if she has more exams or some meeting or something else she has to do, I don’t want to fuck that up for her.

The silence stretches for several seconds, and I frown. “Brooke?” My heart is in my throat. “I know how things were when we left the cabin and I know you said it’s too hard because you have feelings for me. I know you also have feelings for Lukeand Jackson. I get it. I’m okay with that. All I know is how I feel. I just want to see you again. Please let me come to you.”

Finally, she says, “It’s not that.” I hear her take a breath. “I mean, it’s maybe kind of that but…”

“Brooke, honey, we can talk about all of that. It doesn’t have to be hard, I promise. I really just want to see you. In person.”

“Okay,” she says. “But don’t push the buy button.”

I frown. “Why not?”

“Well, I have to tell you something. I wasn’t sure if I should. But now…”

I give a short laugh. “After everything you have told me, and everything that happened, you can tell me anything.”

Again, she’s quiet for a couple of seconds and I picture her gorgeous face with that sweet blush that is so easy to elicit.

Then she says, “I’m in Chicago.”

A thrill shoots through me. “Awesome.” I slam my laptop shut. “How long are you here? Where are you?” I stand and head for my bedroom to change clothes.

“I’m here for a while. Actually, the next couple of years.”

I freeze in my bedroom door. “What do you mean?”

“My internship is here in Chicago. I am living here now.”

I let that sink in. Then I pull in a deep breath. “Fuck, yes.”

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