Page 43 of Give Me Love

“Good. I still haven’t had my coffee and I’m getting ill.”

I scoff. “Getting? You about made that boy cry.”

“I doubt that.”

I smirk as I hop into his car, and once he gets in, I say, “I thought you liked your coffee black, anyway?”

“You remembered?” he asks.

I shrug. “It’s my job.”

He nods, like right. “A guy can’t switch it up?”

I sigh playfully. “Yeah. I guess you can. So, you haven’t had one cup today? You do know it’s three in the afternoon.”

“I’m aware of the time, smartass.” His lip lifts and he starts the classic. “I didn’t grab a cup this morning because I was out. It’s Lou’s grocery day.”

“She does your shopping too?” I ask as we ride in Atlanta traffic.

He looks over at me. “Hey, don’t judge me. She insists on the shit, and if you knew Lou, you’d know you can’t tell her no.”

I smile. “What have you been doing all day then?” I look at his loose sweats and white shirt.

“I’ve been riding dirt bikes outside of the city.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised. Damn, Bryce on a dirt bike. That’s kinda hot. I picture him in riding gear and his long fingers over the handlebars.

He’s just your friend, Kat. You don’t need or want a relationship right now, remember?My subconscious likes to remind me of shit. She’s right, but annoying.

“Yeah, Jace and I grew up riding out on the ranch. I still enjoy it.”

“So that’s why you look so good.” As soon as I say it, I wanna smack myself. I feel my face redden. “I mean, that’s why you’re in such good shape.”

He lifts a brow at me with a cocky smirk. Oh my

God, that smirk. Ugh. Where’s a black hole when you need one?

“You think I look good?” he asks with his hand loosely on the bottom of the wheel.

“Oh, shut up. It’s obvious you’re not fat and I’ve heard dirt bike riding is a workout.”

We come to a red light and he looks over at me thoughtfully. “Yeah, it is. But I also go to the gym and hit the bag a few times.”

“You mean punching bag?” I ask.

“That’s the one,” he replies as we head down the road again.

“How do you just stand there and hit the bag over and over? Don’t you get tired of it?” I’m not sure what I mean by this question. I guess I’d get bored with just standing there and punching a bag repeatedly.

We pull into a small appliance store and Bryce parks the car.

“Easy. I’ve got a lot of anger built up from years of shit I can’t shake.” His face pales after he says this, like he didn’t mean for it to come out. He rubs his forehead and takes the keys out. “Let’s go,” he mumbles. Wow, that turned sour quickly. We were just having easy talk and now he seems pissed.

His legs are longer than mine so I can’t walk beside him. I quicken my steps as he opens the door for me to walk in first. The place is small, and the metal rack shelves are overcrowded, but I swear it’s got anything you’d possibly need for a kitchen. We can’t walk side by side because of the narrow aisles so I walk in front, wondering what Bryce meant by a lot of shit he can’t forget and why his mood changed so much.

I stop once I get to the coffee machines and scan over each one. “Know which one you want?” Bryce asks me. I look back at him. He stands with his hands in his pockets, looking laid-back and emotionless. No sign of playfulness… no sign of anything really.

“Yeah.” I turn back and slide a box from the shelf. “This one will work just fine.” I smile, but he doesn’t return it.

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