Page 39 of Safe With Me

“You know what? I am.” Her chest rose and fell as she breathed out a long gust of air. “Thank you, Mike.”

She pressed her hand to my chest and brushed her lips against my cheek. They were soft and warm, and I’d bet just as sweet as I’d imagined—and kept imagining. I could feel her relieved breath on my neck as she lingered one glorious second and pulled away.

My skin burned at the contact as my feet rooted to the carpet, my heart thumping hard enough against my rib cage for her to feel it against her palm. The fight not to turn my head and taste that fucking beautiful mouth triggered a sharp pain down my neck.

I hadn’t felt this way around a woman since…ever. Even when I was a teenager existing in a whirl of stupidity and hormones, no girl had ever knocked me on my ass each time I was in her presence.

“And now we can really be friends without me having to worry so much if something upsets me in front of you.”

Friends.It was all we could be, but I was beginning to despise that damn word.

“Yes, friends.” Repeating it left a sour taste in my mouth. “You’re safe with me.”

A smile danced across her lips and made it to her eyes for the first time tonight, stealing the little air I had left in my lungs.

I had to figure out a way to keep myself in check, or I would be the one in trouble.

8

LILA

“Okay, so this is good,”Ally said, her head bobbing with a little too much enthusiasm on-screen.

“What’s good? That I freaked out in a crowded bar in front of half of Kelly Lakes, so much so that Mike had to escort me home, or that I told him what happened with Ted?”

I shook my head and let it fall back against my kitchen chair.

“Having a friend close by who happens to be a cop is good, and one who knows the situation and can watch out for it is smart. The cop being hot is just a bonus.” She leaned closer and popped her brows.

I rolled my eyes and nodded. Yes, the cop being hot was another issue I was too exhausted to get into.

“And as far as yelling at that asshole, someone made you uncomfortable, and you told him to back off. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about or anything you would have thought twice about before all this bullshit with Ted…” She grimaced as she trailed off.

“But…”

“But,” she repeated slowly. “I worry about how Ted is still screwing with your head. Nothing weird has happened since you’ve been there, right?”

“No. As far as I know, he doesn’t know I’m here.”

“No crazy emails or texts from a weird number?”

“He doesn’t have my new cell number. Very few do, and maybe my parents will do me this one favor and keep it from Doug.”

“I hope so too.” She snorted. “But talking to someone may help. Besides me. I’m always here to listen, but I don’t have any real expertise in trauma from an obsessive ex. You can talk to a therapist online if you don’t want to seek one out where you are.”

“No, that’s a good idea, and I’ve been thinking about it. I thought last night would be a good way to push myself, and while it was a little uncomfortable at first, before my blow-up at the bar, it was actually fun.”

Last night had been fun because I was with Mike. I’d even managed to relax a little before we stepped into the bar. He was a nice guy who didn’t judge, and being easy on the eyes was a bonus that I had to learn to ignore.

“That’s good. I’m glad Mike was there to help put your mind at ease and help you get out of your head for a few hours.”

“Yeah, he was great,” I said, darting my eyes from the screen for a minute.

“You like him, don’t you?” Ally’s smile was wide as she rested her chin on her hand.

“Of course I like him. He’s sweet and helpful and a pretty decent guy not to judge the crazy I’ve let out almost every time I’ve seen him.”

“Denial never looked good on you.” Allytsked.

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