Page 5 of With You

“We both knew what this was.” I was fucking this up, possibly destroying a friendship with someone I truly cared about. But I couldn’t stop, the thought of being vulnerable in front of another human being was my worst nightmare.

“Yup, you’ve made it crystal clear.” He rolled out of the bed and sifted through the clothes we’d thrown all over the room. Feeling exposed now that I was the only one of us still naked, I jumped out of the bed and did the same.

“I’m sorry if you thought this was something else.” I hastily pulled on my dirty panties and grabbed my bra off the lamp on the dresser. “We’re both leaving for training in completely different fields today. It’s not like we know when or if we will ever see each other again.”

“Goddamnit, Sam! Just stop!” He whirled around; jeans pulled on but still unbuttoned, his shirt clenched tightly in his fist.

But his face, oh his face didn’t hide an ounce of what he was feeling. There was no goofy smile or mischievous smirk. His eyes held no spark. My best friend looked broken, like my words had destroyed him. And I hated myself for it, self-loathing consumed me from what I was doing to him.

We fell silent, both of us half dressed, standing on opposite sides of the bed like we were at war. A bed where I’d felt more pleasure and more love than I’d ever felt in my life. And it was all a huge mistake.

I pulled my shirt over my head and reached down to grab my boots, clutching them in my hands like they were armor.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered again uselessly.

“Me, too, Sam,” he stared at the rumpled bed sheets like they’d give him an explanation of what had happened and why I was acting this way. Maybe if he got one, he could tell me, too.

Then I spun on my heel and walked out of the room without another word. Tears forming in my eyes for the first time in years and my best friend’s defeated expression seared into my brain forever.

1

SAM - PRESENT DAY

I held on to Daisy’s slight weight, pushing her body upward while she clung to the bar.

“I’m doing it, Sam!”

“You’re doing great, kiddo, pretty soon you’ll be putting us all to shame.” Lowering her to the ground carefully, I ran my hand over her frizzy braids and smiled.

I didn’t like kids. They were loud, messy and tended to be sticky. Why were they always sticky? But I loved Daisy, she was awesome and I didn’t even mind when she raided my snack drawer in my office.

“Did you see me, Uncle Roe? I’m strong.” She curled her little arms and flexed her biceps, gritting her teeth to make the cutest grimace I’ve ever seen. Little badass.

“Very impressive, mini boss. How about we cut on that super hero yoga video you like so much?”

Daisy’s shout echoed in the gym and she raced over to the computer, knowing exactly how to pull up the video and turn on the sixty-five-inch flat screen that hung above the mirrors.

“Kids are smart these days, I think when I was five, I was still figuring out the correct shoe to put on each foot,” I said absently as I watched Daisy work through the stretches.

“Same,” Roe agreed. “Future Mrs. Boss just stormed the castle and there’s some strange noises coming from the head honcho’s office. Figured I’d help distract her while they were busy.”

“Hmm,” I wasn’t surprised. Ever since Lily had moved to town and opened her bakery next door to the office, Grayson had been biding his time. I don’t know what he’d been waiting for. He’d claimed Lily months ago in front of her friends and our other boss, Kane, when she’d gone to a spa for a girls’ day.

“Love seems to be in the air lately. Maybe you shouldn’t stand this close to me, I’d hate for you to be overwhelmed by my masculine scent.” He held his hands up as if I were going to attack him.

I snorted, “You stood next to me and if apple juice suddenly becomes a turn on for me, I’ll let you know.” I gestured to the empty box which was comically small in his giant hand.

“Um, this is a fruit. I don’t know if you’ve checked your food pyramid lately but you’re supposed to get two to four servings of fruit a day. This is my third box, so, I’m almost done.” He slurped the last of the juice loudly from the box.

“It’s a plate now,” Gage grunted. I leaned around Roe’s body and looked at him questioningly.

“The food pyramid, it isn’t a pyramid anymore. Now it’s a plate.”

“Huh, so how many juice boxes does the plate say I should I drink a day then?” Roe’s forehead wrinkled as he squinted at the nutritional label on the side of the box.

“None.” Gage grunted again. His gruff voice never rose in volume, even when dealing with the ever-frustrating Monroe Ross.

“But it’s gluten free!” Roe threw his arms in the air like that was the perfect rebuttal.

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