Page 92 of Rewrite the Rules

“The part where he fucks me like he found me on OnlyFans.”

“And you’re not into it?”

“It just feels a little carnal.”

“So tell him you don’t like it.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it. I just feel like I’m more concerned about what he wants than what I want. It feels a little…off.”

A sliver of sun cuts through the cityscape and a warm stripe of light rests over my leg. I trace it with my finger as the heavy silence between Cody and me remains.

Finally, Cody asks the question I’ve been avoiding. “What do you want, Addie?”

I put my chin in my palms and let my fingers wrap over my face. “If I ask for what I want, then how is that fair to Joel? He told me he doesn’t want a relationship. If I push this any further then I become a woman who is manipulating him with sex to get what she wants. What does that say about me?”

“I think the fact that you care so much about what he wants says a lot about you…and how you feel about him.”

Thud!

Cody and I both jump as Felices slams against the sliding glass door. His furry belly smashes against the glass and his loud meow indicates he’s pissed at the lack of invitation to our coffee date. Cody shakes his head and turns up his nose in disgust. I laugh as this war between a larger than normal cat, and a larger than normal man, continues to ensue.

“You should tell him.”

“Tell him what?”

“How you feel. Look”—Cody groans in reluctance—“I’m a shit friend for telling you this, but Joel loves you. He’sinlove with you. Like I’ve never seen before.”

My heart flutters and I can’t hide the excitement in my voice. “He said that to you?”

“No.”Oh.“But he’s been my closest friend since freshman year at UA. Believe me when I say,I know. Try to be patient with him because this is new for him too. He’s a little lost right now.”

I sigh deeply. “If and when Joel decides he wants this to mean more, he’ll tell me. Until then…well, I’m okay for now.”

Cody nods unconvincingly. “Sure. But Addie?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re my friend now, too. I don’t want either of my friends to get hurt. You gotta stand up for what you want as well.”

“I’m okay. Promise.” I hold up my pinky but before Cody can lock promise fingers with me the sliding door opens and closes behind us. Felices comes barreling onto the balcony and dives into my lap.

“Felices, down,” Joel scolds lazily. We all know Felices doesn’t listen to commands. Mostly because Joel is a pushover with his cat baby.

I mimic Joel’s warm smile. He looks like a dream in the morning. My man looks like a Grecian god ascending to earth, gracing us with his presence (okay notminebut I can pretend in the safe haven of my mind). Joel finds his place right next to me, throwing his arm over my shoulder territorially and pulling both me and Felices into his embrace. He kisses my cheek tenderly as he whispers a good morning. It’s so natural now to just nuzzle into him. I side glance at Cody’s raised eyebrows that say ‘See? Told ya.’

“Bro, how much was Felices?”

“Why?”

“Addie wants to know.”

“Oh, um, I think eighteen?”

“Oh,” I say. “Okay, eighteen hundred is a lot, but not as bad as I thought.”

Joel squeezes my shoulder sweetly. “Thousand, Baby Spice. Eighteenthousand.” I sputter and wheeze as I choke on my spit. “Why?” Joel asks.

The reason is because I’ve spent the past two weeks hunting down Joel’s perfect Christmas gift. I’ve talked to almost every single Savannah cat breeder within a five-hundred-mile radius. I now understand why Joel only has Felices. His kind isfucking hardto find.

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