Page 132 of Can't Text This

His back goes ramrod straight as he realizes the words he just spoke. His lips part as if he’s going to say something else, but nothing comes out.

I wait.

And wait and wait and wait.

He doesn’t say anything.

Neither do I.

It does nothing to counteract the way my heart begins to beat faster and faster.

Love.

He said it. He knows he said it.Iknow he said it.

Yet, we ignore it.

“How’d you like riding on the bike?”

“It was…”

“Scary?” he provides, laughing at me. “Because I sure as shit heard you yelling in my ear when we got on the highway.”

“I would prefer to never to do that again.”

“I’ll take the backroads home.”

“There are backroads?” I nearly shout. “Why didn’t you just take those to begin with?”

“And miss all the screaming? Nah.”

We fall back into a comfortable silence as I finish eating my food, setting the empty container on top of his. I wonder if it will always feel like this with him, if things will always be so easy between us.

Well, as easy as they can get with me being his son’s teacher and us having to hide our growing relationship.

Maybe this isn’t so easy after all…

“Talk to me. What’s going through that head of yours?”

“Huh?”

He brushes his fingers over the crinkle that’s formed between my brows. “You’re thinking about something you don’t want to think about it. What is it?”

“Everything.”

“Us, isn’t it?” he guesses.

I nod.

He sighs and pushes himself off the concrete wall we’re seated on. His long legs carry him back and forth and back again as he paces, hands on his hips, a frown slashed across his mouth. “We’re at a real fucked-up crossroads, aren’t we?”

“We’re screwed, and not just literally.”

He coughs out a laugh but continues pacing. “Good one, but yes, we are—though I think if we’re creative enough, we can make this work.”

“Should it really have to be that hard though? Should we have the need to be ‘creative’ to enjoy our relationship?”

Robbie grins at me as he does another pass. “I like it when you call it a relationship, makes me all mushy and shit on the inside.”

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