Page 100 of A Little Complicated

“It makes it even.” Pulling the flimsy material up her legs, I redress her and kiss her nose.

She smiles. “So I’m under your skin, too, huh?”

A chuckle hits the back of my throat. “You have no fucking clue. Now, go inside and shower.”

“What about the grass?” she asks.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“I think I know how to mow a lawn.”

“Which you’ve already proven.” I motion to the half-trimmed yard. “Let me do this for you.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Okay.” She smiles, pushing her hair away from her face. “And, uh, don’t tell Archer about…this. Especially when we’ve both agreed it’s only morsels…or whatever. It’ll only hurt him.”

My chest aches, but I shove the feeling aside and dip my chin. “Secret’s safe with me.”

“Good. I guess I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around?” Her question hangs in the air, highlighting her insecurities as she waits for me to take the lead. To tell her what the plan is and how we should navigate it.

“Yeah, of course.” I pull her into me and kiss her again, shoving aside the voice in my head reminding me how much this might hurt her in the long run. Because I’m selfish and greedy, and I want her. Ophelia Grace Taylor. I want her more than anything. “As long as we both agree to keep this simple and…”

“As little complicated as possible?” she offers against my lips.

With a nod, I let her go. “Yeah. I guess we’re in agreement.”

“Good. I’ll see you around,” she repeats. Her hips sway as she heads back to the house, my chest squeezing with every step.

“See you around, Opie,” I murmur.

32

OPHELIA

If my Midol doesn’t kick in soon, I might actually cry. I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the uterus. Seriously. Like someone stuck a knife above my pubic bone and twisted it with the force of a…I dunno. What’s strong? A giant? Sure. I feel like a giant is sawing at my insides with a rusty machete.

After hockey practice, I caught a ride home from Morgan, one of my teammates, popped a handful of painkillers, and am now neck-deep in lukewarm water. To be fair, it started out scalding. But I forgot to bring a towel in here, and I don’t have the energy to drag myself out of the bathtub, making a watery mess across the floor and into the hallway in search of one. Especially not when I feel like I’m dying.

Why do periods suck so bad?

My phone buzzes on the edge of the tub, and I stick my bottom lip out in self-pity as I shake off the water clinging to my hands and reach for it to see who’s trying to get in touch with me.

Archer

Hey, where are you?

I reread the message, confused.

Me

I’m sorry, am I supposed to be somewhere?

Archer

Shit. Sorry. I guess I figured one of the guys invited you, or at the very least, you heard the commotion and would come over. There’s a game night tonight, and I’m actually here for it for once. Do you want to come hang out?

---