Page 18 of Beneath the Surface

Her lips twitch. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Well… tough shit.” I shrug, biting back a grin. “Maybe I want yours.”

Her smirk softens into a small smile.

The bill shows up and I grab it before anyone else can, paying for the two Cosmos Annabelle and her friend drank.

It’s not until I’m on my bike, the vibration of the engine rumbling underneath me, that I question what the hell I’m doing. There’s something foreign thrumming through my veins. A craving to spend more time with Lily, unwrap her layers one by one until I can figure out what the hell it is about her that makes her feel so goddamn different.

But when I get to Annabelle’s she isn’t there.

And later that night when I’m back at the motel, I wonder why I pictured hazel eyes staring up at me instead of Annabelle’s browns.

9

Lily

Last night in Phoenix wasn’t what I was expecting, but it wasn’t a complete bust either. I’ve found a camaraderie in Annabelle that up until this point, I haven’t allowed myself to have. We’ve worked together for two years, and she’s tried consistently to become my friend, but I’ve pushed her to the side.

Being alone is safer. Smarter.

It still is, that hasn’t changed.

I doubt I’ll ever be the type of girl who goes out for brunches and sips on fizzy drinks, but after last night, there’s a crack of light filtering through my dark and heavy.

“So, how are things with your kid? Chase, right?” Annabelle asks while we roll up silverware.

“He’s doing fine.” I clear my throat. “Good. I’m just… he’s almost four now, and he needs to be starting preschool, but I don’t really know where to put him or how I’m gonna pay for it.”

She sucks on her teeth. “There’s that KinderCare off Route 60 you could take him to. Don’t they do preschool?”

They do, but the thought of having him around strangers all day and having to acclimate to a new place—havingmeacclimate to new people to trust him with—is a bitter pill I’m not sure how to swallow. Instead, it just sits on the back of my tongue, slowly dissolving like chalk.

I’ve been putting aside every spare penny I can to enroll him in a preschool. The options around here are limited, but I know he needs socialization with someone other than my fifty-year-old neighbor. I need to give him some other kids to play with and let him spread his wings.

Nerves tumble through my stomach at the thought.

“Yeah, maybe.” I sigh.

The deep growl of an engine distracts me, and my heart skips when I see Alex’s Harley pull into the lot, his leather jacket framing the tattoos that run up his neck.

“Your man’s here.” I nod toward him.

Annabelle smirks, placing a silverware roll-up in the wire basket. “Don’t let him hear you say that. He’ll think I’m going around trying to ‘claim him.’”

Her words are soaking in familiarity when she speaks about him, and for some reason, it makes my chest burn. “Are you twonothooking up?”

Her grin widens. “I didn’t say that.”

“Well…”

She shrugs. “Well, he’s just… not here for a relationship, you know? Honestly, I can’t really see him in a relationship atall.”

“No?”

Her eyes flick to him as she bites her lip and shakes her head. “Nah, he isn’t really thefeelingstype of guy.”

“So you guys are just what? Friends with benefits?”

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