Page 51 of Rival
“I got you. Run upstairs and I’ll come up with a reason I’m here.” Turning her bodily toward the stairs, I pat her ass and get her moving. She jerks forward, only glancing back at me once, then sprints for the stairs. Her feet are so quiet that I barely hear them over the sound of the guys plodding inside.
Quickly, I lean back against the counter and grab the abandoned orange juice jug on the counter and fill a glass. Nothing better than looking like you’re supposed to be here.
Another wave of hurt curls inside of me as I try to come up with an excuse. As much fun as I had last night, I’m thinking Edith may not have considered what it could mean for both of us. Obviously, her main intention is to hide this away, tucking it into a dark corner so no one will discover our secret.
I’ve been in enough situations with women to read her unspoken intentions. This seems to be one of those one-time things which is incredibly disappointing.
Corbin comes into the kitchen first, looking exhausted and ready to fall into bed. Clayborn follows, then comes up short. “The hell you doin’ here?” He looks toward the stairs leading to Edith’s room, but I draw his attention back to me.
Quick on my feet, I start talking without knowing where I’m going and end up pulling it off. “Ended up passin’ out on your couch. Hope you don’t mind since I’ve done it before.”There, I’ll remind him I’m familiar with staying at his house. “Went to leave last night and fuckin’ Corb’s truck was givin’ me issues. I worked on it a bit but decided to grab some sleep before tryin’ again in the mornin’. What happened to my truck?”
And that’s my explanation followed by redirection.
I ignore Clayborn’s glare, and face my brother. “Like I said, we hit somethin’ in the road, and it fucked your alignment five ways to Sunday. Sorry, brother. Boss said he’ll cover the repairs, but we had to haul it back on the flatbed. He sent someone out a few hours after we left to swap places. They finished the run so we could come back.”
We didn’t expect them back until tomorrow, so this interruption just solidifies that sneaking around isn’t the best way to go about things. As much as I wanted to fuck Edith moments ago, seeing the way she reacted to their arrival has me relieved we didn’t get further into things this morning. Fucking her twicethengetting pushed away would have stung even more than this does.
I’ll just let her know we’re okay and back off. No reason for things to get messy.
Swallowing against my dry throat, I stand up further. “Well, let’s move shit around and I’ll get you home. We can deal with the truck later.”
“Thought you said mine was fucked too?” Corbin asks, clearly notsotired he remembers my lie.
Waving him off, I chug the last bit of orange juice and rinse my glass. “It turned over, but made a weird sound. Maybe it just needed a rest. I bet it gets us home.” Clayborn’s eyes narrow, as if he’s reading straight through my bullshit. I know it’s a risk, but I won’t leave before saying goodbye to Edith and giving her the out she needs. So, I urge them out the door. “Why don’t you guys grab your stuff and swap it to the other truck? I’m gonna take a piss, then get ready to go. I’ll be outside in ten.”
I wait for them to head out, then hurry up the stairs only to find Edith sitting upright on the edge of her bed. Her hands are clasped between her bouncing knees and she’s still fucking pale with worry.
I know I have to be quick, so I pick my shirt up from the floor and pull it over my head and fill her in. “Told him that Corb’s truck was acting up, so I crashed on the couch. Nothin’ more than that, but I gotta get Corb home.”
“What… uhh, what happens now?”
There’s my cue to address the elephant in the room. As much as I hate having this conversation, especially when I have to hurry out of here, I know it needs to happen.
Acting as nonchalant as possible, I force out a half smile. It’s all I can manage. “Edith. I had a fantastic time last night. Truly. It was fuckin’ incredible, and you were amazin’. But, and I hate sayin’ this because it makes me sound like a total dick,butI think we both know that it wasn’t a smart decision. Your reaction to your dad showin’ up just goes to show it hasn’t been right of me to sneak up here and play with you behind his back.”
If she was pale before, she’s downright see-through now. Almost a sickening green, but it’s probably because of my reminder that we were almost caught. Nodding more to myself, I feel positive this is what she wanted.
Bending down, I press a kiss to her cheek. “I don’t regret it and I hope you don’t either. We can just pretend it didn’t happen and no one will be the wiser.”
I feel fucking sick saying the words and my gut is telling me I’m making a massive mistake right now. But my head is screaming that Corbin and Clayborn are waiting on me downstairs and neither of them would approve of me fucking little Edith Hughes. She seems to be of the same mindset.
Checking around the room, I don’t find anything else that belongs to me, and I make my way to the door.
She still hasn’t said a word. Pausing, I glance back at her and see a mix of devastation and acceptance. That brings me up short and a wave of confusion overtakes my irritation of ending this.
“Are you—” I start to ask if she’ll be okay, but she cuts me off.
“You should go. I understand.”
Her words are simple and give me the out Ithinkshe wants, but again, it doesn’t feel right. My eyes fall to her doorknob and I can’t turn it. “I don’t wanna leave you like this.”
Whispering, she shifts back on her bed, her toes leaving the floor as she puts distance between us. “I’ll be fine…” Her voice trails off, then she adds, “Thank you for last night. It was, umm, it was really nice.”
I scowl at her use of nice and open my mouth to argue, but I hear my brother shout from downstairs.
“Fin! I wanna fuckin’go!”
Nodding my head, I force myself to open the door and slip outside. I leave the second floor, every step feeling as if I’m walking away from something special. All it feels like is regret, but not from being with her. It’s regret from walking away. And an ache wishing she would have told me I was wrong.
