Page 124 of Pick Me

“I’m concerned this is one big joke to you.”

My brows crossed, and I paused, thinking about it for a second. “A joke? Thea?”

“Yes. She’s my sister. Mytwinsister, who’s been through enough shit for a lifetime. She doesn’t need any more of it.”

“I agree, but I need to make it clear. I’ve never been more serious about anyone or anything in my life.”

His eyes tracked my face. I didn’t know how to make it clearer without telling him I was in love with her, which I didn’t want to do, not yet, at least. I shifted my shoulders, feeling the judgment across his face.

“I want to believe you. I really do. I just don’t know if I can.”

He closed his eyes. The guy was looking haggard and stressed and way older than twenty-one. He didn’t look like someone who was just about to be the first-round draft pick. I guessed all the stuff with Aster and now Thea had clearly taken its toll on him. I was part of that, and it only made me wonder how much this guy could take before he broke.

“I get that. Especially finding out the way you did. That’s not my finest hour, and I will work tirelessly to prove to you that Thea is not a joke. She’s the best thing to have ever happened to me, and I will do everything to make sure she’s happy.”

He didn’t answer me, and I knew why. He thought I was a screwup, and to be honest, I’d done nothing to dispel that notion since we met. I was repeating my third year of college, and obsessively played video games so I could review them whenever I had time off. I wasn’t studious in the way Matty or Adam were. I didn’t have the financial backing of Aiden either.

I was just me, and that didn’t feel like enough when it came to Thea. How could it? Thea deserved the world. Yet, all I could offer her was a gaming chair and a vibrating controller.

“She’s your sister, Tanner. I wouldn’t have kissed her if I wasn’t serious about her.”

He groaned. My blabbermouth struck again. Why the hell would I mention kissing his sister? That only served to remind him what appendage his sister was kissing before we got into the wreck. Even I thought it was gross in the context.

“How long has it been going on?”

“Dating her, or liking her?”

“Both. You flirted with her when she first got here, but since then, all you’ve done is bicker. In fact, you were bickering during dinner with the dean. Now, you’re suddenly together and into each other enough to cause a car accident because apparently you can’t keep your hands off each other for longer than a few seconds.”

Bile rose up my throat, and I felt all kinds of wrong for doing anything with Thea behind his back.

“I’m sure you can understand my skepticism.”

I bit my tongue, taking my time to respond. It was important I answered correctly and didn’t just blurt out the first thing that came to my mind.

“We started dating the night you came back from Aster’s.” It was the truth, and something about finally admitting she was my girlfriend felt right. Tanner would get used to it; I had years to prove myself.

“But you’ve liked her for longer, haven’t you?”

I nodded before cricking my neck. “You know how they say there’s a fine line between love and hate?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I might’ve always sat on the fence of that line. I might’ve always had a crush on your sister. I pushed those feelings aside for you. For her, and honestly, I guess I just never thought she’d be interested in me. I couldn’t believe she was after finding out what happened to her.”

“She told you about that?” he asked, surprised.

I nodded. “Yup.”

“I think you’re the first person she’s ever told. Most days she pretends it didn’t happen.”

“She does. She acts like this invincible force, happy to take care of herself, but I see what you do. The soft girl underneath. It changed her, and I will never let something like that happen to her again. That guy wasn’t worthy of her.”

“And what makes you think you are?”

I laughed sarcastically. He had a point. I’d done nothing to earn the respect of being called her boyfriend. Not yet, at least.

“You’re right. I’m not worthy. I don’t deserve her. Not yet, but I will. Thea’s given me something to fight for. I want to be better because I want to see her succeed and make her happy. I vow to do everything in my power to prove to you and Thea that we were meant to be together.”

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