Page 77 of Play Pretend

Gently, I tugged the bottle from her grasp and opened it. She just stared at me, that same blank expression she’d had since we left her house on her face. Trin tilted her head toward the hallway, and I reluctantly followed her out, leaving Willow to continue staring at the wall.

I clicked the door shut and turned toward my sister. “What do you need?” I asked, running my hand through my hair. “You okay? You should go home. It’s late.”

“Youshould go home,” she countered. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks.”

But she was right. I felt like shit, too.

“Take Willow home?—”

“I don’t think she’ll want to go back there for a bit,” I said.

She twisted her lips to the side. “Maybe I can call Gracie to come pick her up?”

That didn’t sit right with me. I didn’t want to be away from her. Just having the door between us was making me antsy.

I tapped my fingers against each other. “I’ll ask her to stay with me,” I finally said.

“It’s still the same house. You think she’ll be okay?”

“Maybe if she knows I’m in the other room, she’ll feel safer.”

I hoped that would be true. But if she felt uncomfortable, I’d check us into a hotel for however long it took for her to feel safe again.

I’d do anything to make her feel safe.

Trinity stared at me for a long moment, her arms folded over her chest. “What?” I huffed. “Say what you need to say. I have to get back to Willow.” I threw my thumb over my shoulder, and she glanced at the door before grabbing my arm and tugging me further down the hallway.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked quietly. “You’re moving really fast.”

“You’re the one who wanted me to start dating, remember?”

“Yeah,dating, Ro. Not moving your girlfriend of a week into your house. I just don’t want you to jump into anything before either of you are ready.”

I took a deep breath. I knew she was just trying to protect me, but I didn’t need her to.

“If she’s not ready, I won’t push it. But…”

How did I explain to her I was more than ready for this?

It was a fucked-up situation, but having Willow in my space didn’t freak me out, it didn’t stress me out. Maybe it should’ve, but I wasreadyto spend my days and nights with her. I was ready to spend every minute of my day with her.

And tonight proved one thing: I didn’t want this to be fake anymore.

“I’m ready,” was all I could say. She just kept staring at me with that unreadable expression.

“You really like her, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“And she really likes you,” she said softly.

I fucking hoped so.

“She makes me happy,” I said. “And I hate that I wasn’t there for her tonight. Trin, I can’t—I can’t be away from her. I can’t let anything happen to her.” My throat tightened. “I could’ve lost her.”

I tapped my fingers against each other again, faster. Over and over. I couldn’t stop.

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