Page 48 of Hate You, Maybe
“But … why?”
“Because.” I swallow, stalling for time.Yeah. Why, Sayla?“Because … our boss back at Stony Peak is expecting a report on our progress here, and he doesn’t know about our relationship.” For that matter, neither does Dexter. “No one at school knows about us,” I add. “And we’re afraid of the repercussions if the administration finds out.”
“Oh, wow.” She puffs out a laugh, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Sayla. I feel so stupid.”
“Don’t. Please.” I’m the dumb one, going off script here. “You just believed what I said. And since we’d only just met you, we weren’t sure we could trust you yet.”
“But you trust me now?” She lays a hand over her heart. “That means a lot.”
A ribbon of guilt unspools in me, but I remind myself this little white lie is a mercy. Dex isn’t interested in Tori. I’m just saving her from future rejection.
“After what we all went through at the retreat today, of course I trust you now.” The shift in pronoun fromwetoIis a subtle one, but I should probably update Dex on this situation before I lump him in any further.
Tori peeks at our cabin again. “Now that you told me, I completely respect the boundaries. Like I said before, I’m a girl’s girl. I only shot my shot because I thought Dex was single. But I get why my usual moves didn’t work. The man clearly adores you.”
I’m sorry, what?
“It’s so obvious now,” she continues, like all this evidence is suddenly unfurling before her. “Every time I tried to get close to him today, he’d put a little extra distance between us. And his eyes were glued to you the whole time. Like, everywhere you went, everything we did, he was watching you. But in a sweet, protective way,” she adds. “You’re so lucky to have a man like that.”
“I sure am,” I say, and my pulse picks up, almost like my heart wishes this were true. But Tori’s observations are colored by what I told her about Dex and me. Not reality. And anyway, I don’t actuallywanthim to want me.
Nothing good could come from that.
“Well, thanks for having my back,” I say.
She puts a hand on my shoulder and offers me a smile that’s almost painfully sincere. “We girls need to stick together.” She starts for her cabin again, then spins back around. “So to clarify, we’renotrunning tomorrow?”
I cringe. “If you’re okay with that.”
She grins. “I’ll see you and Dex for pancakes instead.”
As she skips up the steps to her cabin and disappears inside, I make a mental note of the old cliché: Never judge a book by its cover. It’s human instinct, sure. But that doesn’t make it right. And I’m not proud of my snap judgments about Tori.
Either way, I’d better fill Dex in on my little ruse. If Tori says something to him first, he might mistakenly believe I have an agenda other than simply helping him out.
My stomach flips at the thought.
The sooner I confess, the better. And when I do, hopefully he’ll understand my intentions. This fake relationship was just an easy way to get Tori off the trail—literally.
Rushing back to our cabin, I’m so grateful my feet no longer hurt, I take the stairs two at a time, and I’m in such a hurry, I don’t even think about knocking. Instead, I burst through the door and find Dexter standing in the middle of the steam-filled cabin.
The man is wrapped in a small towel. And nothing else.
Literally.
Chapter Thirteen
Sayla
“Welcome back, Kroft.” His smile goes crooked. “Did you forget rule number two?”
I gape at him for a long moment, unable to formulate a single word, let alone an entire sentence. I also can’t seem to drag my eyes off the view.
I mean, the sight of Dex working out in the weight room last week was plenty spectacular. But mostly naked Dexter is a whole different level of … spectacle.
Water drips off his towel-ruffled hair onto the wall of his bare torso, glistening in fat droplets. I’ve never been jealous of water before, but can you blame me? He’s all pine-scented and broad, his tanned skin rippling and flexing. Instead of a clingy workout shirt drenched with sweat, I’m getting an inventory of every single muscle that has ever existed on a human being.
Amanbeing.
