Page 18 of Hound Dog
But I couldn’t do that to her. I was the guy who’d slept with a different girl every month—sometimes every week—back when I was in college.
I was a bastard. She deserved her first time to be with a guy who loved her. Who would cherish her. Not with the asshole who’d had a date three days prior. And not while she was trying to check off some bucket list while grieving the recent loss of her mother.
“You’re… you’re here,” I said, pretty sure I was still in shock.
After her aunt moved to Maple Grove, I spent every summer both paranoid and hopeful that I would run into her. But each year, Meryl would leave for a month or so at a time and it became apparent; Haylee wasn’t coming back.
Until now.
“Yes,” she snapped, trying to wiggle out of the hold the leash had on us and avoiding my gaze. “I’mherefor a few weeks.”
A few weeks. That was a hell of a lot more than your average weekend visit.
“Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?” I scanned her body, from the top of her helmet-clad head to the tips of her rollerbladed toes, not seeing any cuts or anything. She was luckily wearing a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads.
I shifted my legs, pressing them against where the nylon leash bit into my calf and winced. She might be covered in padding, but I couldn’t exactly say the same for myself.
“I’mfine.” Still trying to climb out of our entanglement, she gave a frustrated growl and for the first time since she muttered my name, looked me in the eyes. “Oh, God. You’re bleeding.”
I glanced down at the cut on my elbow, but it was barely anything. A little road rash. This could have been way worse. “It’s just a scrape. But what about this guy?” I asked, sliding my legs out from the binding of the leash, and reached out to pet the dog. A boxer. “Are you okay, buddy?”
I gave him a pat on the head and scratched behind his ear. He plopped down, sitting and scratching at his scruff with a happy, panting smile.
“Is he hurt?” she asked, crawling over to him as well.
“He seems fine,” I said.
With us both leaning over her dog, our faces were inches apart and I heard her drag in a deep breath, her nose hovering over my shoulder.
“Did you justsniffme?” I asked, grinning down at her.
“What?No. I just sniffed. Like, theair.”
With a narrowed gaze, I turned my head to look at her. Haylee’s wide, brown eyes shifted from her dog to examine me with a fierceness that almost floored me again. She had to be barely five foot three and probably didn’t weigh more than a buck ten soaking wet, yet she was rollerblading with this massive muscular dog.
In an instant, I was propelled six years in the past to the roof of the old mill building, wishing I hadn’t chosen that one goddamn moment in my life to be noble.
I wanted this girl more than anything. I ached for her. I’d had dreams about her constantly after I didn’t show up that night. Even though I hated more than anything that I hadn’t made love to her beneath the stars, I didn’t really regret my choice.
It was the right thing to do.
Even though it sucked and resulted in cerulean balls for like a week.
But maybe this was our chance? A second chance to check off that bucket list item of her mom’s.If she hasn’t already with someone else.That thought alone sent a howl of jealousy clawing up my spine.
Problem was, her scowl didn’t exactly scream ‘I want you, Finn. I forgive you.’
She stood with a huff and unclipped her helmet, tossing it to the side. “Next time, maybe watch where you’re walking.”
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I must have misheard her. “I’m sorry, did you seriously just blame me for the fact thatyourollerbladed intome?”
“That’s right.” She shot me a dagger-filled look, tilting her chin higher. “I wasn’t in control, but you could have been paying attention and jumped out of the way.”
I snorted and stood up, swiping the grass and debris off my jeans. “You know, for a girl who just knockedmeover, you sure as shit have an attitude about it.”
Great, just great. There was a fucking tear on the knees of my jeans now along with the grass stains. “For the record, it’s probably not the best idea to rollerblade with a dog you can’t control,” I stated bluntly.
She clamped her hands to her hips. “I do it all the time withmydog. Even though Tyson isn’t mine, my aunt said he’d be good. That he responded to voice commands.”
