Page 156 of The Fine Line
My arms fall to my sides. “You mean you didn’t… You weren’t thinking about the image? Our arrangement? How it would make you look?”
He stares at me like I’ve missed the point entirely.
Then, without warning, he closes the space between us. His hands cup my face—gentle, careful, like I’m something both precious and fragile.
“The only thing I’ve thought about since I saw your face on that TV screen in the locker room is how fucking proud of you I am.”
The words hit harder than I expect. I freeze, warmth flooding my chest, my throat tight.
He leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead—soft, lingering. When he pulls back, I’m not sure I’m breathing.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“I meant it,” he murmurs.
“I know.”
He nods and quietly turns toward the door.
“Rhett?”
He stops.
“Do you maybe… want to stay? Just for a bit? I’m going to watch highlights from the other games. You could hang around. Unless you don’t want to.”
“Of course I want to,” he says, voice careful. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
I study him. “Okay…”
“Goodnight,” he says softly, already pulling the door closed.
I move without thinking. My hand shoots out, pulling the door back open, stopping him mid-step.
“Why not?” I ask.
He turns slowly, tension working through his jaw.
“I mean…” I mutter, “just because I can’t give you everything you want doesn’t mean we can’t haveanything.”
He exhales, scrubbing a hand over his face. When he looks back at me, his expression is strained, like he’s holding something in.
“Cub… you don’t get it.”
“Then help me get it,” I say.
He hesitates, then shakes his head slightly. “I spent years watching you. Wishing I could have something—your attention, your time, a shot in hell. And now that I’ve had it… now that I know what it’s like to actually touch you, to feel you that close…”
He swallows hard, eyes dark.
“I can’t go back to pretending I’m okay with less. I can’t un-know it. I’ve done nothing but try these last few weeks.” He grips the doorknob like it’s keeping him upright. “Trying to act like I’m fine just being around you as friends is like standing next to an open bottle when I’ve spent years learning not to drink.”
I blink, my breath catching.
“There are things you don’t know about me,” he says quietly. “Things I’ve never shared with anyone. But the point is—I know what it’s like to crave something so bad it takes over everything. I know how easy it is to justify one more hit. One more high. And being near you when I’m not allowed to want you? Feels a hell of a lot like that.”
He looks down, then back up, meeting my eyes.
“I’ve worked hard to get control. But you?” His voice drops. “You might be the hardest temptation I’ve ever had to resist.”
