Page 66 of Escaping Our Reality

Never gonna happen. Never. Ever.

I’ve made that clear on more than one occasion. Especially after the drunken margarita kiss.

Ry’s growl and threatening size give Hudson pause and he takes a small step back. Fighting isn’t really something boys at my school do. How can you fight when you’re wearing jeans that cost $300 and the latest, most expensive smart watch?

Ry shouldn’t need any more confidence; he’s built like a brick shithouse. But still, he takes advantage of Hudson’s small sidestep, closing even more distance between them. “You should know Lu—” he breaks off, not wanting to share his nickname with the crap bag in front of him. “Ella isn’t the kind of girl who has flings. Insinuating that she is makes you a liar. And we don’t deal too kindly with liars where I come from.” He flicks his chin in the air. “So, tell me, Hudson. Are you a liar? Or just an asshole who can’t respect the woman’s wishes? It seems to me she made them pretty clear. And she wishes to be nowhere near you this Spring Break.”

One of his friends, Matt, tugs him on the shoulder. “C’mon, man. Let it go.”

Puffing out his chest, Hudson makes the right call and decides to walk away. “I just hate to see you missing out on fun with your friends, Ella.”

But they’re not my friends. So, I’m more than willing to take that gamble and miss out on whatever activities their pea-size brains deem ‘fun’. As they walk away, Thomas, a Grade-A-Douche, leans against Hudson and whisper-yells, “Yeah, she’s totally not worth it.”

Pure luck and heavenly grace are on my side. It’s the only explanation for why my reflexes are so fast. I reach out, grabbing Ry’s waist and holding him against me with all of my strength, using all of my muscles. I’m no match for him either. He walks several paces, treating me like I’m no more than a feather on his back. “Ry, stop. Please. Please, don’t do this. It’s what they want.”

I jump off his back and race to his front, planting my hands on his chest. That stops him.

Looking down at my hands, he takes a deep breath, trying to release the pounds and pounds of tension sitting on his shoulders. I stare up into his eyes. He seems taller today because my shoes are completely flat. It was warm enough for shorts and a long-sleeve sweater so I have flat sandals on my feet. His translucent green eyes flare, setting my heart aflutter.

“Ask me,” I demand.

Shaking his head, he snorts. “Tell me something. Something no one else knows.”

“You know you told me that you never hear me say a curse word?”

He nods.

I lean in, waiting on him to do the same, waiting to share my secret with him. “In my head, I cuss all the time. I’m like a fucking sailor.”

Catching him completely off guard, he bursts out laughing. Lifting me into one of his all-encompassing hugs, I quickly wrap my legs around his waist and he carries me back to the cars.

“Yours or mine?” he asks, standing between our two vehicles.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Yours!” I shout. He sets me in his truck. Leaning across to my SUV, he rifles through my purse, grabs my wristlet walletwith my car key and phone tucked neatly inside, slams the door, and locks it.

When he starts driving, I slide across the bench seat, planting myself right next to him. “I love surprises.”

“And I love a safe Lulu. Scoot back over and put on your seatbelt.”

We’re both deathly quiet for the rest of the ride.

Because did Ry just say that he loves me?

Chapter 28

ELLA

I stare out the window at the large brick building with its rows of windows and a seating area planted in the middle of a small flower garden. I’ve never been here, but the sign tells me that we’re parked outside of the premier nursing home in the county. Well, in all of the surrounding counties too.

The nursing home where Ry said his grandmother lived, back when she was battling her illness.

Wait. Did Ry everactuallytell me his grandma passed away?

He opens my door, holding his hand out to me. “Ry? Why are we here?”

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