Page 70 of Wildly Inappropriate

“Like they’re temporary! He has a girl in every city. They all know he’s just interested in them for the weekend, and as soon as he leaves, they don’t mean anything to him again.”

“Don’t act like you weren’t exactly the same way until you met Bryn.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Oh really?” I ask, a biting tone in my voice at his lie.

“Okay, fine. I was for a little bit there. But it wasn’t who Iam. I was going through some shit. You know that. But I had long-term girlfriends before. Hell, even my shortest relationship is longer than JT’s longest.”

“Well, you changed when you met Bryn. Who’s to say JT won’t change for me?”

I watch as he tries to figure out how to answer the question, and I’m impressed by how much thought he is giving it.

“You’re most certainly worth changing for, Lila. But JT has serious mental blocks in that department. His parents’ relationship is the weirdest thing to ever witness. It’s”—he runs his left hand through his hair—“fucked up.”

“Yeah, well, it’s also fucked up that you’re sitting here basically saying your best friend isn’t good enough for me to date.”

“I don’t think anyone is good enough to date you.”

“Okay, Dad.”

“If JT were trying this with anyone else, I would one hundred percent be cheering him on and offering any and all support I could to help him figure it out. But you’re the one person in this world I side with over JT. And from your side of the equation, dating JT is risky. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Do you really think JT would hurt me?”

“Physically? No. Certainly not. Emotionally? I mean, yeah. I think there is a good chance. He has before, right?”

I raise a questioning eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

“I”—he sighs deeply—“I never told you about this, but that first Thanksgiving you were home from college, I heard you talking on the phone about what happened at the party we were all at the night before. It’s why I tried not to give you or JT too much shit about the way you act toward each other.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. And I know how bad it hurt you. I mean, I may have missed it this time, but it was impossible to miss the crush you had on him as a kid. And I heard how crushed you were when you were talking about him leaving you and never coming back after he kissed you. I mean, I get it from his point of view—you were 18—but I also heard the devastation in your voice. I wanted to break his face and tell him he made the right decision. How do you know he won’t do the same thing this time?”

“I don’t. I don’t know that. But I also know the crush I had on him when I was 18 is nothing like how I feel about him now. He’s a good guy. And, to be fair to him, I was 18. He kissed me to save me from some guy who wouldn’t stop hitting on me, and then, when I wanted there to be more, he left. I’m not saying it was the right thing to do, but therewasn’ta right way for him to break my heart at the time. It was going to be crushed no matter what he did. Plus, I was so embarrassed that not only did he feel like he had to defend me with fricken Wes but then he had to explain to me that it wasn’t real. The weakness, the imperfection he saw in me, is something I try to avoid at all costs. Him seeing it? It’s fueled my rage and need to point out every flaw in him since that day.”

“I get it, Lila, I do. But it’s not just that. I’m worried he doesn’t know how to be in a relationship. It’s hard work for anyone, but it’s really fucking hard when you’re a professional athlete. We travelall the time. We leave tomorrow for yet another tournament.”

“You think I don’t know that?” I say, an unintended venom lacing my voice. “I’ve watched you go through it. Ihelpedyou go through it.”

“I don’t know what to think, Lila. I thought you guys were likely to murder each other when you found out you were living together. I don’t understand how it goes from that to…whatever you are.”

“Dating. We’re dating.”

We pull onto Main Street, and Jameson sighs, clearly as frustrated with our conversation as I am.

I decide to extend the olive branch. “Look, I’m really sorry you walked in on us together this morning. That was not intentional. But we’ve only been together for a couple of weeks, and we didn’t know that it was going to turn into something—and before you say anything, no one knows if it’s going to be something when you’re just a day or two in.”

“I did.” His eyes flit back to Bryn, and I know that jerk has her music off and is listening to us because her eyes light up like a kid who just heard the ice cream truck’s song.

“Gross.”

“Just be careful, okay?”

“And don’t come crying to you when he hurts me. I got it,” I say.

He parks and turns to look at me, a deep furrow between his brows. “No. And if he hurts you, I will be there for you—whenever or wherever you need me. And you can cry as much as you want.”

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