Page 43 of Envy

My fingers slid between us, wrapping instinctively around the rigid length of him. A bolt of heat shot through me, intoxicating and dangerous. And then he froze.

His breath hitched. His muscles trembled beneath my touch. His hands clenched at my waist like he was holding himself together by a thread.

“Run,” he rasped, voice hoarse and strained, like the single word cost him everything. His throat worked as he swallowed. “Rose…”

The sound of my name on his lips shattered something inside me. I let him go like I’d been burned, my fingers tingling from the loss.

My legs slid down his hips, the heat between us cooling with the weight of reality pressing down on me. My heart pounded in my chest, the truth slamming into me with brutal force.

If I let this happen, what then?

I would be exactly what he said I was.

I staggered back, my breath coming in quick, uneven gasps. His gaze stayed locked on mine, dark and unreadable, but the tension in his body told me everything.

I had to leave.

I burymyself in the book I still haven’t officially checked out from the library—sonnets, poetry, pieces of love and longing that feel like fragments of a world I’ll never belong to. It’s the only way to push away the memories of last night but at the same time it makes me wish it never ended.

The way his lips swallowed me whole. The way my body burned against his. The way I wanted it.

I don’t care if I skip over words that are too difficult to read. I just need something to keep me from overthinking.

I brush my teeth and curl up on my bed, pulling my sweater over my knees. I don’t have the courage to leave the room.If I go to the kitchen, I might run into Garret. And I have no idea how to face him—how he’ll look at me.

Does this mean he likes me?

Does this mean he still hates me?The last thought makes my stomach churn, so I focus on the book, forcing my eyes over the words.

Then my phone chimes.

Leo.

Leo: Good morning, gorgeous. I hope you haven’t forgotten about me.

Guilt crawls up my spine, a million tiny ants swarming, biting at my insides. I force a smile when another text comes through—this time with a cowboy hat emoji.

Rose: How could I? How many guys do you think I know that look good in cowboy hats?

Leo: I’m hoping it’s just me. ;)

“Are you ready for your tutoring lesson?”

The deep voice makes me flinch. My phone slips from my hands, landing on the bed like a hot coal.

Garret stands at the foot of my bed, staring at the screen. At Leo’s name. At the text.

He’s shirtless.

Every sculpted muscle of his chest and abdomen is carved with shadows, disappearing beneath the band of his black sweatpants. His damp hair curls at the ends, fresh from a shower, the scent of his soap teasing my nose.

I swallow hard.

“Good morning,” I murmur, my voice barely above a whisper. “I… I didn’t think you were serious about the tutoring thing.”

“You haven’t eaten,” he states, like it’s fact, not concern. “I was waiting for you in the kitchen.”

Warmth unfurls in my chest, slow and foreign.

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