Page 71 of Deception & Daylight
Paige: Your girlfriend is being a pain in the ass.
Mags: Traitor.
Miles: When is she not a pain in the ass?
Mags: ??
Paige: ??
Paige: See you two lovebirds at 7pm.
Miles: We’ll be there.
Tossing his phone beside him on the couch, he tackles me into a pile of throw pillows and peppers me with kisses, his day old stubble tickling my neck. “Fake? Does this feel fake to you?” he asks, grinding his hardness against my thigh. This man is my kryptonite.
Paige sinks into the cushions beside me, bucket of popcorn in hand. “Extra butter?” I ask.
She pins me with a scowl. “Obviously. It’s like you don’t even know me.”
“Just making sure you haven’t gone completely off the deep end. You have to admit, things have been a little crazy lately.”
“That’s fair.” She giggles, absently twisting the ring on her finger, with a far off look in her eyes. I rest my head on her shoulder and dig into the popcorn, savoring the flavors on my tongue as Cade and Miles deposit our drinks on the coffee table and slide in on either side. Miles rests his arm around my shoulder, reaching over to grab a fistful of popcorn. “You don’t have to fake it here. Paige and Cade know what’s going on.”
“Who said I was faking it?” he says, shoveling a fistful of popcorn into his mouth. “So, what are we watching?”
“Paige hasn’t seen any of the Star Wars movies, so I was thinking ‘A New Hope’,” Cade says.
Miles wrinkles his nose. “Anything but that. Matty used to make me watch Star Wars all the time, and I can’t stand that shit.”
My body grows rigid as I attempt to process what he just said. “You used to watch it with Matty? When?”
“I don’t know. High school, maybe before that. Empire was always his favorite.”
I bolt upright, tears pooling in my eyes as I begin to connect the dots. I’ve reread our text messages a million times since he ghosted me, looking for any sign that I got it all wrong. Everything I thought I knew crashes down around me. Matty loves Star Wars. Matty and Miles had a falling out two years ago. Miles didn’t remember my birthmark.Little Minx.
My face pales and suddenly I feel like I’m going to be sick. I push off the sofa and rush to the bathroom, dry heaving into the toilet. I hear my name being called on the other side of the door, but the sound is muffled by my quiet sobs. It was Matty the whole time.
It was neverMiles.
I didn’t fall forMiles.
Milesdidn’t ghost me.
I can’t fucking breathe.
An ear splitting crash sounds as the door swings open. Miles sinks to his knees on the tile, cupping my cheeks. “Mags. Talk to me, baby. What’s going on?” His touch seers into my skin and I flinch back. “It wasn’t you,” I whisper.
I glance over his shoulder, finding the concerned faces of my best friend and her husband before meeting Miles’ mournful gaze. He takes a deep breath, clenching his eyes shut. “You let me believe it was you,” I sneer, temporarily allowing the anger to rule over the hurt.
“Let me explain.” When he reaches out for me, I shrink away, getting to my feet before pushing past my friends and heading through the back door. Once I’m outside, I run to the end of the dock as fast as my legs will carry me. Stopping at the edge of the water, I suck in a lungful of air, hands braced on my knees, but it’s not enough.
All of the pieces were right there, and I missed it. Every harsh word I threw at him was misplaced and he just took it, enduring my unadulterated hatred for years. And for what? To protect his brother?
And look at me now, falling for him again. Or for the first time? I don’t know how to categorize any of this. My emotions are a mess of confusion as I sit down on the edge of the dock, letting my toes dip into the cool water.
Some time later, Paigetakes a seat beside me, draping her arm around my shoulder. “Wanna talk about it?”
Resting my head in my hands, I murmur, “I don’t know where to start.”
