Page 52 of A Sudden Response

“I’ll see you Sunday night, Joe. We’ll talk then,” Eric said as she bit back a disappointed sigh.

He wasn’t coming with her.

When she mentioned that the hotel was on a large lake known for its insanely large bass and trout, he didn’t even bat an eye as he wished her a safe drive. At first, she thought he was dying. Eric never passed up an opportunity to go fishing. That’s when she realized that he was giving her space so that they could both think over everything that happened.

“I think we both need time to figure out what we want and where we should go from here,” Eric explained as he took a step back, already putting distance between them, she noted. “A few days apart will do us both some good.”

She didn’t need to ask to know that he was hoping that what happened between them was just a one-time thing so that they could move on and pretend that it never happened. She didn’t even need to ask to know why.

He was a coward.

What was happening between them scared her too, but she was willing to take a chance. She loved him and she knew that heloved her, but Eric didn’t know how to make this work and she sure as hell wasn’t going force him to do this.

If he didn’t love her enough to risk everything, then she didn’t want him. She wanted a man who loved her and would do anything for her, not someone who couldn’t be bothered to try. He would still be her best friend because she knew that she couldn’t live without him, but she’d move on. One day, she’d find a man who thought she was worth the risk.

If Eric wanted her, then he was going to have to make the first move because she was done.

“Areyou going to keep checking your phone or are you going to watch the game?” Nathan asked as he grabbed another beer.

Eric didn’t bother answering him as he placed his phone back on top of the pizza box, where he could keep an eye on it. Then, he snatched the beer out of Nathan’s hand and took a sip, hoping to piss him off.

Nathan let out a snort of disgust as he grabbed another beer. “I don’t know how Joe puts up with you.”

He didn’t know either and that was part of the problem. He loved her so damn much and he didn’t have anything to offer her. The last twenty-four hours was going to have to be enough to last him for the rest of his life because he couldn’t do this and after this weekend, Joe would realize that too.

“Why are you here?” Nathan asked, thankfully drawing him out of his rather depressing thoughts.

“I live here,” Eric said, frowning in confusion.

“I meant, why are you here instead of with Joe in New Hampshire?”

“Because I’m not taking a class,” Eric said, hoping his brother would just let it go.

He should have known better.

“Since when has that stopped you? Is she still pissed at you?”

Eric did his best not to cringe at the question. Was shestillpissed at him? No, but he’d be willing to bet that by the end of this weekend that he wouldn’t be her favorite person anymore. It was hard to miss the hurt expression on her face when he told her that he wasn’t going with her only to intensify when he told her that he wouldn’t be calling her either. The accusing glare that quickly followed had turned his stomach.

She probably thought that he’d used her and she’d be right. He knew that he couldn’t have a lifetime with her, so he greedily took a night with her. When she got back, she’d be pissed, but he knew that she’d get over it and in time, they’d go back to the way things were and last night would just be another fond memory, Eric told himself as he crushed the can in his hand.

“Everything’s fine,” Eric said, tossing the crushed can into the small wastebasket by the couch.

“If you say so,” Nathan said, shrugging it off.

“I do.”

“Then, you’ll be happy to know that Joe just responded to the text message you made me send her.”

“What did she say?” Eric asked, trying to sound casual.

Nathan sent him an amused look as he said, “That she arrived safely. Hasn’t checked into her hotel yet because she had to go straight to the school. She said it’s boring and that she hates you.”

“What?” Eric asked, snatching Nathan’s phone away from him. He found her message and scrolled down and-

“She didn’t say that,” Eric said, turning an accusing glare on his brother.

Nathan shrugged, taking back his phone. “It was insinuated.”

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