Page 33 of Be Ours

11

Tanner

Rage thundersin my very veins. I storm across the sand towards the dunes. I hear the door slam open and shut behind me, but I ignore it. What I just saw is…confusing. Half of me is enraged. That half wants to tear Bishop in half.

But the other half of me is…I shake my head. I don’t want to say “turned on”, but to deny it would be a lie.

I was almost to the station when Marvin called to reschedule our talk. I can’t say finding my best friend balls-deep in the girl I’ve found myself magnetically drawn to is the last thing I expected to see when I came home. But, it was pretty far down the list.

“Tanner!”

I glare over my shoulder. Bishop is storming after me.

“Fuck you,” I snap as he gets closer.

“C’mon man, stop—”

I whirl on him, my fists half raised. “You’ve got some fucking nerve, you motherfucker,” I snarl. “In my house!?”

His jaw tightens. “Tanner…”

“What!” I hiss. “What, Bishop? You want to tell me you’re sorry?”

He stops a few feet from me. His eyes are as stormy as mine, his jaw tight. He shakes his head. “No, actually.”

I bark a cold laugh. “You’re a real piece of work, shithead.”

“This isn’t about you, Tanner!”

“Yeah, it is!”

He snarls and looks away. “Okay, I misspoke. What I meant is, this isn’t because of you. I just…” he sighs and turns back to me. “There’s a draw there, Tanner. Between Cora and me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt, man. And I can’t….I couldn’t…”

He exhales slowly. He looks at me without blinking.

“I’m sorry, man. I am. I mean that.”

I look away across the dunes. “Fuck,” I grunt. “I know you are, and that pisses me off.”

He chuckles quietly. “You’d rather I just be an asshole about it? Rub your face in it?”

“Maybe,” I snap. “It’d make kicking your ass easier.”

He grins. “You could try—”

“Do not fucking push me,” I hiss. “No jokes, fucker. Not today. Not right now. I’m fucking warning you.”

Bishop nods. “Sorry. Tanner, I…shit, man. I don’t know what to do here.”

“Me neither.”

“It’s not just a physical thing,” he growls. “She’s not just some piece of ass or something.”

I snarl and bare my teeth. “No shit she’s not.”

He nods. “Glad we’re on the same page there.”

“So, you like her.”

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