Page 23 of The Way We Are

“Uh huh,” Savannah moans, making the temperature in my cabin suddenly stifling. “He’s still not a fan of mornings, is he?”

Laughing, I roll down the window of my truck. With Savannah’s house on the ritzy side of Ravenshoe, I may as well get comfortable for my twenty-minute trip. Well, as comfortable as I can be with my heart sitting in my throat and my dick digging into the zipper of my jeans.

8

Ryan

"Pull around the back of the main residence; there's an old oak tree at the side of the pool house that will give your black paintwork some shade."

“Shade or concealment?” I ask, suspicion in my tone.

Savannah takes in a sharp breath. “Both.”

I should be annoyed, but all I am feeling is gratitude. She could have lied to me. She didn’t. That's good enough for me—for now.

After pulling my truck under the tree Savannah is standing next to, I shove the envelope Isaac handed me into my glove compartment. I'm so afraid of losing it, I'm tempted to take it with me, but with today being unseasonably warm, I'd look a little odd walking around with a jacket on just to conceal a wad of cash I amassed illegally.

The rusty hinges of my truck squeak when I swing open my door. I hear its suffering twice since my cell is still pushed against my ear. Savannah and I continued our conversation for my twenty-minute trip. Although the reason for my trek across Ravenshoe was never mentioned, our conversation flowed freely. It probably helps that Savannah has fine interrogation skills.

Her questions were just the standard ones you'd anticipate after a lengthy absence. Is Ms. Forrester still one screw away from insane? Is my younger brother still a spitting image of me but with ten times more attitude? And what am I planning to do once school is over?

The first two questions I answered with ease. Yes and yes. The last one, that left me a little stumped. Although it sounded like a corny one-liner, Savannah accepted my “I’m still working out the details” pledge with more confidence than it was issued.

My heart beats in a crazy rhythm when Savannah stops in front of me, her face still showing traces of her tears. Red rims circle her eyes, and faint white marks trail down her pink cheeks. My words hurt her as much as they scarred me to write, but she's still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.

Pulling my cell down from my ear, I disconnect our call and pull Savannah into my chest. Although she said I have nothing to be sorry for, I feel terrible that I’m the cause of her anguish.

With Savannah's ear hovering over my heart, I'm sure she can hear the crazy effect she has on me, but I don't care. I hold on tightly, refusing to let her go for a moment longer than I already have. If we weren't both so stubborn, our argument could have ended years ago.

Besides, this feels right. Her rose scent lingers into my nose, and her cheek rests on my chest. Perhaps I shouldn’t have hidden in the shadows last night? Maybe I should have manned up and stood up for our relationship when I had the chance? Because even if this crazy kinship we’re struggling to reform never steps over the friendship line, I’m okay with that. I’d rather have her in my life as a friend than not have her at all.

Savannah glances up at me with glistening eyes a short time later when I say, “Thanks for fixing my truck.”

Her tongue peeks out between her teeth as she struggles to hold in her smile.“I didn’t do anything you couldn’t have done yourself.”

"You know mechanics and me," I say with a laugh. "I fuck them more than I fix them."

Savannah screws up her button nose as she steps away from my embrace. “So my ploy to bring you here to fix my pool pump was pointless?”

“Your pool pump is broken?” I ask, glancing over her shoulder.

I’m no maintenance guy, but with the water in her excessively large pool crystal blue in color, I doubt she has an issue with the pump.

“If a broken pump increases the chances of you removing your shirt, I can arrange for it to break.”

My eyes rocket to Savannah so fast I nearly have an aneurysm. As her bottom lip tucks into the corner of her mouth, the playful gleam in her eyes spreads, leaving no doubt she's flirting with me. Although I'd like to pretend her flirting is because she can't contain herself around me, I'll shelf my ego for a minute to admit she’s trying to ease the tension in the air. Not all of it—just some.

Savannah is the prettiest girl I've ever seen, but she's not good with her emotions, so letting me see her cry twice in less than a twenty-four hour period would be hard on her. She hates being seen as weak, so she will do everything in her power to appear strong.

“If you want me to remove my shirt, you don’t need an excuse.” When I step closer to her, filling the sliver of air between us, the rise and fall of her chest doubles. “You just need to ask.”

The late afternoon sun pelting my shoulders turns blistering when Savannah smiles. No joke—her smile could stop traffic. It's the perfect response to showcase her talents. Sweet and wicked at the same time—just like its owner.

“I’ll be sure to remember that.” Savannah nudges her head to the pool I was glancing at seconds ago. “Let’s go dip our feet in the water.”

Not waiting for me to reply, she spins on her heels and saunters to the pool, hoping a little bit of distance will cause me to miss her mumbled, “I need to cool down before I combust.”

She isn’t the only one. The hotbox I’ve been working in the past nine hours has nothing on the heat bouncing between us.

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