Page 94 of Never Your Girl

Hey, stranger. Just checking in to make sure everything’s good.

The text stares back at me, and my thumbs hesitate over the keyboard. For the first time since we started this back-and-forth, I don’t know how to respond. It feels… complicated.

Everything in my life is complicated.

Bridger and I are a tangled mess of secrets, trust issues, and a chemistry so intense it burns. Yet here I am, holding on to something with Ice that feels simpler.

Or at least it used to.

I type out a response before deleting it.

Then another.

ColdAsIce17

You there?

My pulse skitters, and before I can talk myself out of it, I type back.

Me

Yeah, I’m here. Everything has been a grind. You know how it is.

His response comes instantly.

ColdAsIce17

I get it. Just know I’m here if you need me.

A familiar warmth seeps through my body. What doesn’t make sense is that it feels like I’m betraying Bridger.

But how can I betray something when it’s never been defined?

Bridger still doesn’t trust me.

Me

Thanks. That means a lot.

ColdAsIce17

Sure you’re okay? You sound off.

The weight of his words presses down on me. I pause, trying to come up with what to say. I could brush him off and keep it casual or I could admit the truth.

Me

I’m just trying to figure things out.

ColdAsIce17

Ah, one of those phases.

Me

You have no idea.

ColdAsIce17

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