Page 59 of Not Made to Last

Maybe I made her out to be something she wasn’t. Or maybe my feelings for Olivia tainted my fantasy of a girl I’d never met before. Never even spoken to in person.

Still, there was a part of me that wanted towaitfor Mercedes.

Wanted tohopefor her.

No matter how pathetic that was.

I type out a reply:

About that…

Then I stare at the blinking curser and inhale a deep breath, unsure what to type next. A notification from the security cameras distracts me, and I click into the livestream just in time to watch Liv’s car coming up my driveway. Heart hammering against my rib cage, I drop the phone and race through the main house, to the front door, and swing that fucker open.

Liv stands on the other side, eyes wide, finger an inch away from the doorbell.

Without thinking, I grab her hand and pull her inside.

We’re halfway across the foyer before she says, “Rhys, stop!” She tugs on my arm and waits for me to face her. “I came here to talk to you. Not to… you know…”

“Have sex?” I ask, shrugging. “That’s cool, but can I show you something before the talking part?”

“Are you about to show me your dick and balls, because I’ve?—”

I bust out a laugh, and she does the same, and it all feels so… natural. So normal. But it had always been like that with Liv and me. Easy.Effortless.“How the fuck do you struggle to saysex, but dick and balls… no problem…”

She holds on to my wrist hanging loosely over her shoulder and shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“How was school?” I ask, only slightly teasing. Seeing Liv at that school, in that uniform, is wild to me. I don’t think that I’ll ever get used to it. I don’t know if I ever want to.

It’s obvious she’s avoided me since our little closet encounter, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see her.Watchher. From afar. Like the serial-stalker than I am.

From what I can I tell, the only friend she’s made so far is Oscar, and I wonder if that’s by choice.

“It’s…” She sighs. “It’s been an adjustment. How was…work? That’s what you’re doing, right? You’re coaching your old team?”

“Kind of,” I reply. “Coach Sykes retired at the end of last season, and this new coach they’ve hired is… different.” I pause a beat, contemplating how much to tell her. “Let’s just say you’re not the only one adjusting to new normals.”

We’re outside now, walking from the main house to mine, and she asks, “Is that why you stayed?”

I’m not dumb. I can read between the lines. “I didn’t stay for you, if that’s what you’re wondering.” I stayed because Oscar asked me to, and I’d do pretty much anything he asks of me.

Two minutes later, we’re sitting on an outdoor lounge, poolside, while Olivia stares down at the open box, silent, her eyes wide and coated with tears.

Finally, she looks up, my name nothing but a whisper as it falls from her lips. “This is… so… so…” Her grin splits her face in two now, and I wish I had the security cameras pointing right at her so I could replay the look on her face over and over. “Max is… he will…” she stutters, her gaze shifting to mine, eyes bright like blazing embers against the setting sun.

Swear there’s something to be said about making a girl speechless that doesn’t involve sex or designer gifts. To surprise a girl and make her happy like this, to have her single smile consume every part of you… I get it now—why people choose one over everyone else.

Everythingelse.

I shrug, trying to play it off. “Max said you guys were entering contests to win a copy and you haven’t yet, so…”

Liv picks up all three books in theMiles and His MiraclesTrilogy, in hardback, gold foil, signed and personalized to Max. “How did you get this?”

“I reached out to the author.”

She scoffs, but a snort comes with it.Hot. “I did that, too, and never got a response.”

“Must’ve been my lucky day.”

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