Page 16 of Taking Chances

I snort at her frankness. “Matter of fact, I do.” And it’s the truth. Her glossy eyes are even brighter than usual, unsure if I’m telling the truth.

I guess she decides I am, because she takes a big sigh before continuing, “My family’s the worst.”

I doubt it, I think to myself, but I’d never underestimate her pain.

“What happened?”

“They blame me for the breakup.” She points a finger at her chest. “That I wasn’t ladylike enough or something like that, so no wonder Bryce got tired of me.” She scoffs, but a fresh set of tears appears.

Ice travels my veins, freezing me in place. “You know it had nothing to do with you.” It’s such a poor fucking comfort, but I’m not good with this.

“How do you know? You barely know me.” She takes a swig of her beer. I don’t touch mine since I’m driving.

“I know enough to know that any man lucky to have you and then lose you is a fucking idiot.”

“I know you’re just saying that, but it helps, thank you. Much more than what my family did.” She offers a small smile.

I meant what I said, but I don’t know what else to add. I’m horrible at these things. So, I just nod.

“Are you driving tonight? Could you please drive me home?” Her gorgeous eyes stare at me hopefully, and I almost drown in them.

“Sure, I have an extra helmet. But you’ll probably freeze in this outfit.”

“You’re with the bike again? Isn’t it too cold to be driving around on a motorcycle?” Her shoulders shiver and my lips turn up into a smile.

“It’s the only ride I got.” I shrug.

“You don’t own a car? Who the hell doesn’t own a car?” she says, more to herself. “Well, I don’t, but it’s different,” she argues with herself, which is adorable.

“I can give you my jacket if you want?” I begin taking it off, and her breath hitches.

“Nope. Deathly terrified of motorcycles, I’m afraid.” She stops me from taking the jacket all the way off.

“OK. I’ll help you into an Uber, then.” She nods and orders the car.

She seems lost in thought, so I don’t interfere. I escort her to the Uber, slipping another bill to the driver.

I need to know she got home safe.

Fuck her family for making her feel worthless. I know a thing or two about that, and let me tell you, it doesn’t feel great.

“Merry Christmas,man. How’s it going? I haven’t heard from you for too long.” My cousin’s voice travels through the phone while I’m lying in my bed, barely awake.

“Merry Christmas, Jace. I’ve been good, a lot of work on fixing up the house.”

“It seemed like quite the dump in the photos you’ve sent me. Had any success with it?”

“I’m doing room by room. So far, I’ve redone the living room and bedroom. I’m tearing up the upstairs bathroom currently, and it’ll probably take a while.” I look around my brand-new bedroom.

The faint scent of the adhesive I’ve used for the dark hardwood flooring still lingers in the room. I don’t have a lot of furniture, just a massive bed, two nightstands, and a dresser. The walls are painted in specialty cement paint, which I love the roughness of. Perfect white walls give me the ick.

“Sounds cool. I’ll have to visit you when you finish.” Jason is the only person in my family I still talk to. The only one who knows where I’m living. We’re roughly the same age, and we used to hang out at Grandpa’s all the time.

“How’s home?” I ask, though ‘home’ couldn’t be further from the truth. That place hasn’t felt like home ever since Grandpa died.

“You know.” His voice turns from joking to apprehensive. “Same old.”

“How is she?” I ask, a knot forming in my stomach.

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