Page 37 of Keep Me Safe

“What’s so funny?” I ask.

“Nothing, nothing,” he says, waving his hands in the air.

My cheeks heat, and I turn back around, grabbing another book. I feel him come up behind me. Reaching over my shoulder, he takes a book down. It has an alien on the cover, and he looks at me inquisitively.

“You wouldn’t get it.”

His eyebrows shoot up, and he shoves the book back on the shelf. He glances down at the one I’m holding. I flip it to the back and read the description. I make it to the end when I see the words.

I want him, but I can’t have him.

He’s my best friend’s dad.

I look up at Noah, a smirk on his face. I hurry to shove the book back where it came from.

“I think you should get that one,” he teases.

It honestly sounds like something I would read, but I’m not telling him that. I’ll make a mental note to add it to my TBR.

He chuckles and wanders to another shelf. I ignore my embarrassment and continue looking through the books. There are a couple more that I find interesting, so I pull out my phone and make a list in my notes app.

When I tell Noah I’m ready to leave, he gestures to my empty hands, asking why I didn’t grab anything. I tell him that I don’t have the money right now.

“Let me buy them for you then.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why?” he asks, genuinely confused.

“Because you’re already letting me stay with you rent-free, I’m not going to have you buying me things too.”

He protests but eventually gives in. As the sun sets on the horizon, we make our way back to the truck.

“Thank you for coming today,” I tell him.

“Of course, I wasn’t going to let you wander down here by yourself.”

When we get home, Jared is sprawled out on the couch, looking utterly miserable. His shirt is half off, and his shoulders are an angry shade of red.

I drop onto the cushion beside him, eyebrows raised.“What happened to you?”

He groans.“Keith failed to mention that mowing his lawnmeantalltwo acres of it.” He shifts, wincing as his sunburn protests.“Took me three hours.”

I bite back a laugh.“Please tell me you at least put on sunscreen.”

Jared glares at me. That’s a no.

I shake my head.“At least you know for next time?”

“Therewillbe no next time,”he grumbles.“Not unless he pays me.”

Noah walks in from the kitchen, an easy smile on his face.“Damn, that’s rough,” he says, nodding toward Jared’s shoulders.

Jared mutters something under his breath.

I go to grab the aloe vera from the bathroom, and when I come back, I squeeze some onto my fingers and start gently rubbing it onto his shoulders. He flinches at first but then sighs as the cool gel soothes his scorched skin.

While I work, Noah flops down onto the recliner, stretching out like he owns the place.“We should go out tomorrow night,” he says casually.“There’s live music at the brewery in town.”

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