Page 68 of Indigo Sky

“Can I tell you something?”

“Anything.”

“I really like you a lot.”

My heart pulsed, and warmth spread through my limbs as I replied, “I really like you a lot too.”

Neither of us spoke for a second. My lips were pulled into a big, shit-eating grin as I undid my belt and wished I were with her instead. Fuck this lonely bed. Fuck taking shit slow. I wanted to be in her house, in her room, leaving my scent all over everything she owned. Marking my territory, ensuring no other man thought for a second that he stood a chance. It was possessive, animalistic, yet it felt amazing in ways that had me holding my head higher and stretching my smile out until my cheeks ached.

Kate sighed into the phone, accompanied by a satisfied little sound. Then, she replied in a sleepy voice that only made me wish I were with her more. “I feel like I waited a really long time for you to say that.”

And that was when I vowed to never let her go so long without hearing it again.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

So, things went pretty much like that over the next couple of weeks.

I’d see Kate at work, where we kept things as professional as possible. But her eyes would meet mine sometimes, a crackling charge would pass between us, and I would be filled with the excitement to be with her alone after work. And the craziest part? We hadn’t really kissed or anything—I mean, again. It was just …beingwith her. It felt like enough. There was no rush to get closer. Those first weeks were, like … the most incredible slow burn of my life, just knowing that, when we did finally get together … man …

We’d set the whole damn world on fire.

***

“Rev, hey, one of the ellipticals needs tightening again,” Tony—the dude at the front desk—called to me as I passed.

“Yeah, sure,” I called back.

I’d just wiped down all the strength training equipment and was on my way to the cardio section anyway. But I hadn’t brought my toolkit with me, so I turned around to head back to the utility closet when I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen in weeks.

“Yo, man. Wow. How’ve you been?” Nate asked, swiping a towel across his forehead.

I stood speechless for a moment, collecting my thoughts as they raced a mile a minute.

How long had he been coming here? He’d had a membership years ago, back when we lived together, but I hadn’t seen him here in … how long had it been? When did he start coming back? Was it possible that I’d simply missed him?

Nate laughed and gestured over his shoulder toward the front desk. “Literally just renewed my membership,” he said sheepishly, apparently reading my mind. “I thought about going to a different gym, but I know this one, and the prices are good, so …”

“Oh, yeah, no, that’s cool,” I said, bringing myself back down to reality. “Good to see you.”

But was it though?

He grinned. “Yeah, man, you too. I stopped by the other day to see if you were around, but your dad said you were out. Tried calling you a couple of times too—maybe a week or so ago—but you didn’t answer.”

He had seen my parents? He’d tried calling me? I guessed it was possible I’d missed them. Maybe they’d gotten mixed up in the spam calls. I had been a little single-minded these days, especially if I was at work or talking to Kate. But my dad? He would’ve told me if Nate had stopped by … wouldn’t he?

“I didn’t know you’d stopped by,” I said, ignoring the comment about his calls.

His brow crumpled as he waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, nah, don’t worry about it. It was, like, two seconds. I saw your dad outside, stopped by, and asked if you were around. He said no, and I got in my car and left. No big deal. But, hey, are you mad at me or something?”

A lump formed, so heavy and tight, in my throat, and I swallowed as I shook my head. “What? No, no. Why would you think that?”

He slung the towel around his shoulders and shook his head. “I was just wondering. I mean, I know we haven’t hung out much these past few years, and I know we’ve both been busy, but I thought we were still good, you know? But … I dunno. I just get this feeling like—"

“No, man, I’m not mad at you,” I interjected, shutting him down.

And it wasn’t a lie, right? Yeah, I’d been mad when I lost my job, but now? I wasn’t mad at all. But that didn’t change the fact that Nate wasn’t the type of guy I wanted in my life anymore. And I wished he would take that hint without forcing me to scream it into his face.

He nodded. He looked off toward something behind me, his brows tipping with an unexpected touch of emotion as he dragged his hand over the back of his head. “Not to sound like a fuckin’ bitch or anything, but I really miss you.”

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