Page 38 of Can't Take My Eyes Off You

‘How about this?’ I say when Gunner is far enough ahead of us that I know he can’t hear me. ‘I’ll date Alex when you finally admit you’re into Gunner.’

‘What?’ She acts appalled, yet interested.

‘Please. You could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife.’

‘I am not into Gunner,’ she insists but her gaze moves to him and the smile creeping up on her face right now isn’t convincing me I’m wrong.

Gunner’s truck beeps to life, alerting us to change the subject before his spidey-senses pick up on us talking about him.

Liv walks straight to him and holds her hand out. ‘Keys, ya drunk…’

‘No one drives my truck but me,’ he says, before eventually caving and dropping his keys into her hand. The two stare at each other for an uncomfortably long time. Finally, I yank open the back door of the crew cab truck, hitting Liv in the process – intentionally – to break the tension.

Gunner clears his throat as he walks away from her towards the front passenger seat. Looks like someone else does drive his truck.

As we drive, my mind wanders. Only this time, I’m wondering if they might be right. What could dating Alex hurt? I’m single; he’s single. Maybe Will’s not the only man I could love with. If I fall for Alex, I’ll quit holding on to hope that Will might come to his senses and follow through with our life plan, and I will finally be able to get him out of my head. Seems simple enough.

15

WILL

‘Condoms, condoms, ma’am, can you help me?’ Mike yells it through the store, obnoxiouslyandintentionally. After that one time a woman didn’t know who he was, he makes sure people know in advance to save himself the embarrassment of that scene he’ll never live down because it’s out in the world on film forever.

‘You have to be as loud as you can get? Jesus.Shut up.’

He punches me in the shoulder as we walk through the CVS, stopping at the older woman who’s now talking to Mike.

‘I’m looking for thebigboxes. Magnum preferred,obviously—’

‘He’s King Mikey!’ Finn finishes his sentence then they snicker like they’re thirteen.

The woman directs us to the correct aisle but as I pass by the first aid aisle, I get a glimpse of her. I stop. Holy fuck, she’s as gorgeous as ever, even more so if possible.

‘Berkley.’

Her head snaps my way.

‘Will.’ She sets a bottle of hydrogen peroxide back onto the counter in front of her.

‘Hi,’ I say, a smile involuntarily spreading across my face.

‘Hello. How are you?’ she asks flatly.

‘I’m alright. How are you?’

‘Never been better!’ she says, but I can read right through her.

I glance around at the aisle we’re in. ‘Are you alright?’

‘Yeah,’ she insists. ‘Didn’t I just answer that? I’ve beyond good. Why?’

I point to a box of Band-Aids and she laughs uncomfortably. She plants her hands on her hips. I’ve never seen her this nervous around me.

‘Right, we’re in the first aid aisle. No, I’m fine, everything is perfectly fi—’ As she motions to over herself she suddenly stops, her eyes on her arm. I follow her gaze and see it.

‘You got atattoo?’

She has the one, but I had no idea she was even thinking of getting another and can’t even imagine what it could be that she’d want it that big.

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