Page 3 of I've Got You

Damn.So much for alone.

Rex’s head flipped to the side to look at the guy coming toward me. He grunted again and then thumped his head back down onto my thighs before nudging my hand for me to continue.

I started to rub, not as invested, nor as relaxed. With my jaw locked, I risked a glance at the guy. Light spilled onto the stranger’s face, highlighting his strong jawline. While I couldn’t see the color of his eyes, I did see the creases surrounding them. It immediately made him seem approachable and friendly. As he moved closer, a small smile lifted his mouth. My gaze landed on the slight curve of his lips before traveling back to his eyes. They were brown, but in the dull light, I couldn’t tell the exact shade or depth.

Friendly, he most definitely was, if his smile and the “Hey” he offered me were anything to go by. But he also looked tired as hell.

I cleared my throat, suddenly aware I’d stayed quiet for a few seconds too long. “Hey.” My voice was gravelly and sounded unnaturally deep.

The guy paused in front of me, his hands dipping into his jeans pockets. He was quiet for a beat, seeming to contemplate what to say.

“You know Rex then?”

I nodded and then took a glance at the large head resting on my lap. With a small nod, I smiled. “Yeah. He finally likes me, so I’m taking it as a win that we’re friends.”

The brown-eyed man’s head tilted slightly, his gaze scanning my face a moment before his eyes returned to mine. “So you’re a friend of Carter’s?”

A humorless snort burst free, not enough to startle Rex, but enough for the guy to raise his brows. I cleared my throat again, not especially liking the fact that it seemed to be closing up and becoming uncomfortably dry in front of this guy. “Well, sort of. We used to work together.”

“Not anymore?”

I bit back the bitter retort dancing on my tongue, tempted to ask if that wasn’t what “used to” explicitly meant. There was no need for me to be so defensive or any bigger of an asshole than I already had a reputation for being.

“Nope. Just trying to figure out my next move.” I clamped my mouth shut, wondering why I’d shared so much. He sat on the lounger beside me, stopping my analysis. “Please, take a seat.” Damn, I really needed to learn to keep my mouth shut and stop being a dickhead. “Sorry.” I threw him a small grimace, noticing both of his perfectly arched brows were lifted, his attention solely on me. There was also a small smile on his lips. I was positive I saw it twitch.

“Hey, I can leave.”

Though, he stayed put, making no indication he planned on moving. He didn’t even shrug or twitch as he spoke.

While solitude had been what I’d craved, I was smart enough to recognize that just maybe not being alone was a good thing. Being alone, I was discovering, was not helpful at all. All it did was give me too much time with my thoughts. And that had a habit of screwing with my head. While I’d sought the quiet, especially since my blowout with Carter a while back, I recognized how dangerous isolation could be. Loneliness was a slippery slope.

I finally found my voice. “No need. I was just—”

His eyes widened, as though encouraging me to continue.

“—needing the quiet. It was all a bit much in there. But—” I released a heavy breath. “—perhaps it’s better to have some company, a conversation, you know?”

Damn. I froze. Shit. Did he think I was flirting with him? Coming on to him? Asking him specifically for “company” in a whole different sense from plain conversation? Shit, was I? Was he gay? Fuck me dead—

“Shit, breathe.”

His deep voice startled me, enough that my eyes shot to his. He was sitting close to me, concern in his eyes. His hands clamped onto my forearms.

“Breathe in.” He bobbed his head with a silent beat. “And out.”

With my eyes now on his mouth, I did as directed. I got my lungs to work again.

Chapter Three

DAVIS

I hadno idea what the hell had just happened, but I was sure the man beside me had been about to pass out. He’d turned white and seemed on the cusp of hyperventilating.

Still gripping his arms, I shook off the wayward thought of how strong they felt under my palms, instead concentrating on helping him breathe. Slowly, his color returned, yet I held on tightly, certain my touch was keeping him grounded.

His stare, which had been pointedly fixed on my mouth as I breathed with him, dropped down. Rex was no longer leaning on him, having shifted when I’d first reached out to him. I wasn’t sure if his eyes remained open, but I felt his arms move, turn out slightly as his hands gripped my forearms so we were holding on to each other. I squeezed gently, not knowing what he needed, but hoping the gesture would continue to help him calm.

When I’d headed out this evening, this wasn’t quite the position I’d expected to be in. Okay, hanging on to another man, or possibly a woman, wouldn’t have been a shitty way to end the evening, but being someone’s lifeline… definitely not my expectation.

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