Page 36 of South of The Skyway

Noel

That good, huh?

Brexley

He’s perfect. And I’m sure by now he’s regretting asking me out in the first place.

Noel

Oh, please.

He’s thanking his lucky stars he waltzed into our bar.

Brexley

I babbled like a moron.

Noel

I’m sure that’s an exaggeration.

Brexley

Straight-up trauma dumped on him.

Noel

It probably wasn’t that bad.

Oh, but it was. For pity’s sake, I never talked about my dumpster fire of a family life. What in the hell was it about Rhyett Rhodes that made my brain pour words out like I’d been slipped a dose of mental Ipecac?

Laid bare, scrambling internally for my loathsome habit of oversharing, I’d wrestled with the distant memory of being capable of swallowing while he stroked soothing lines down my hand. Like I hadn’t just dumped way too much info on him on our not-a-first-date.

Brexley

Even if I didn’t scare him off with my parental problems, he lives over an hour away. He’s intelligent and beautiful and successful and has vision and has the cock of Eros himself, and I’ll never see him again.

Noel

Listen. If the god of love and sex wanted to bend me over a counter and court me like a proper lady, I’d drop Eric like a hot rock and call Eros daddy.

Laughing,I tossed my phone to the bed a moment before I collapsed beside it, covering my face with a hand and wishing the mattress would swallow me up. This is why I didn’t go out. Going out led to emotions and emotions led to expectations, and there was only one ending expectations could bring about. Disappointment.

Because one of two things was bound to happen. Option one, and this was the most likely of the two: Rhyett would associate with me just long enough to come to his senses and lose interest. Option two: Rhyett was a secret axe murderer. And if I didn’t die, I’d escape by the skin of my teeth, because he couldn’t really be real with all his reassuring tones and ridiculous understanding, and enthusiasm for business strategy.

Royal bounded onto the bed in a fluffy cloud of lick-filled enthusiasm. She slathered my bare calf with her affection in the form of doggy kisses, and I wrinkled my nose until she collapsed over top of me in much the same manner as her owner. Her big, clunky head rested across my chest, doe eyes wide with expectation. Appeasing her desire for scratches, I let out a long-harbored sigh.

“I shouldn’t have gone,” I whispered. Nothing good could come out of a free fuck and fast feelings.

* * *

Rhyett

Good morning beautiful! Meet me this morning? I’ve got to head back to the property by ten. I’ll bring the coffee. Bring Royal. She’ll love it.

Staringat the partially cracked screen didn’t actually transform the words into some semblance of sense. Nor did it rally the courage required for me to respond to the dang thing or soothe the fact that I still wasn’t sure what I wanted. The soft white spot on her chest shivered as my pup stretched out on her back, warming up her joints with a yawn, tail thumping.

“Morning, baby,” I cooed, scratching her exposed belly and earning a more rapid tempo of tail wagging.

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