Page 66 of Reckless With You

He scrunched his brows. “Do I know a Beth?”

“Funny story. So, I thought it was a woman here looking for you.”

This time, his brows shot straight up. “Excuse me? Why would a woman be looking for me?”

“I don’t know. She just told me to stay away fromhim. And at first, I had no idea whohewas. So, I thought it was about you.”

“I’m not currently seeing anyone but you. And I’m not technicallyseeingyou either because we love our shady labels.”

“Hey, Shady Labels should be our band name.”

He just rolled his eyes before giving me a kiss. I settled just a bit at his touch, knowing for this moment, what we were doing, was worth it. He was really good at calming me. Even though I wasn’t sure exactly what any of it meant.

“Okay. Tell Uncle Tucker exactly what’s going on.”

“Ew, I’m totally not calling you Uncle Tucker.”

He visibly shuddered, and I laughed. “Yeah, as soon as I said it, I went to that creepy place. Okay, let’s backtrack, Shady Label.”

“Do not use that as a nickname. It’s a band name.”

“Anything you say. Now, Beth? Not one of mine. I have not seen a Beth in a very long time.”

“Well, I figured that out when she said her name was Beth. She’s Tobey’s girlfriend.”

This time, his eyes went dark, a little growl escaping his throat. “What did she want?”

“Other than to call me names and tell me to stay away? I’m not sure. She was just so angry. I don’t know what he’s told her, but it clearly hasn’t been good things. And I almost feel sorry for her.”

He sighed before getting up and starting to pace. “You always think the best of people. It has to be someone who needs help. Or someone you need to feel sorry for. But you’re the one who had someone come to your home and call you names. Did she hurt you? Threaten you?”

I shook my head. “No. She just said to stay away. I don’t remember exactly what else was said, but I got the gist of it. And then I texted Tobey and told him to stay away since Beth was here and it got weird. And then he said I needed to stay away from Beth.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Nope. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well, I hate him. He’s lucky I didn’t kick his ass in that parking lot,” he said quickly and then slammed his lips together.

This time I stood up and glared. “What parking lot?”

“I saw him in the parking lot of the grocery store, but I didn’t hit him. We were just leaving, so I approached, and he was an asshole. Said something stupid. I almost hit him, but I didn’t.”

“What did he say?” I asked, my body chilled.

Tucker shook his head and then came up to me, holding me close. I didn’t lean into him, though. I was suddenly worried.

“He said it was hard to be with you. That you had so much energy that it was hard to keep up or some shit like that. He was just talking out of his ass. An insecure little prick. I didn’t want to lie to you, and I don’t want to hurt you. So, ignore his words. I’m here. And that’s all that matters.” He kissed the tip of my nose as he said that, and I nodded, giving him a very fake smile. I knew he knew it wasn’t real, but there really wasn’t much I could do about that.

Because my former best friend couldn’t be near me. And he didn’t want to be. Because I was just too much. I was needy.

And look at me now, doing the same thing with Tucker.

I was making him lie to his best friend.

All because I didn’t know how to handle my feelings.

Tucker’s lips were on me then, his hands on my ass, holding me close to him. I pushed away, trying to suck in a breath.

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