Page 105 of Fierce-Hyde

“Sorry,” she said. “Maybe I thought I told you, but it was Raina. It’s not a big deal. It was more like an informal thing. We met for lunch rather than me going to his office. I wasn’t sure what I wanted and felt if I walked in there people would know and it could get back to my boss.”

“So you went to lunch with another man?” he asked.

She spun, her jaw dropping. “Are you jealous or just don’t trust me?”

“Shit,” he said. “I don’t know. I shouldn’t be and don’t know why that came out of my mouth.”

He was running his hands through his hair.

What the fuck was wrong with the two of them always doing this?

Was it caring too much that they jumped when they didn’t need to?

She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the couch. “Sit. We are going to talk. You’re the one that is always the calm one and it should be me this time. Let’s use some time today to get things out in the open when we aren’t rushing to be somewhere.”

He knew the conversation they had in the car on the way to his parents’ wasn’t the best timing.

Thankfully by the time they got there, Tori was fine. Or she acted it at least.

He felt like shit that he even said what he had. Or more like when he had.

“We can do that,” he said. “I’m sorry I said what I did. I feel like the two of us are always saying we are sorry.”

She laughed. “Glad to know it’s not just me. I never thought I’d be in a relationship like this.”

“Like what?”

“The hot and cold.”

“I don’t think I’m hot and cold. At least what I feel for you? Do you think that about me?”

She rolled her eyes. “No,” she said. “I don’t. It’s the wrong choice of words. Maybe I should say we love as strongly as we hate, but I don’t like using that word either. It’s just way too negative.”

“I get it,” he said. “How about we are passionate about things? Good and bad.”

“That’s better,” she said. “See. I like that. We are both passionate people. And you should know, I’ve never felt that with anyone. We already know my actions with you are different than with others and I think it comes down to what you said. It’s passion. Passion can be in more forms than just a sexual nature.”

“It can,” he said. “But we know we both love passionately too. Maybe that is why we react so fast.”

“We do,” she said. “And we can do some of that later. In terms of love. But let me explain a few things to you and maybe you can understand better. I feel like we are still clearing the weeds. It’s not a bad thing, but something happens and we react rather than talk. Right?”

“We are both guilty of that,” he said.

“I’m very independent.”

“No shit,” he said.

She laughed. “You know why I am. I’m not used to explaining myself to anyone. Not in my personal life. Raina is the only person who I share that much with, and even then, it’s not a ton.”

“I’m understanding that more about you,” he said. “In the past, I never cared about those things with other women. I mean we’d talk and if someone went in depth I might have just ignored them or pretended to be listening.”

“Oh, really?” she said. “Makes me not want to tell you things now.”

“See,” he said. “I was trying to be honest so you could understand that I want to know you.”

“Then that is how you should have said it,” she said, poking at his arm.

“I’d like to know what is going on in your life,” he said. “Not for any other reason than we are in a relationship and I’d hope you’d tell me. Doesn’t mean I need every detail of a pair of pants that don’t fit you right or shoes that are your favorite and now they are scuffed.”

---