Page 13 of Winter Break Up

My jaw is practically on the floor. “How the hell do you do that?”

“Read your mind?” She grins. “Girl, I’ve known you for a very, very long time. And I knew you two when you were all up in each other’s junk as teens. I can read you like a book.”

Sighing, I look down at my plate. “This is bad, Gen. Mercer seems to have this weird animosity toward me, and yet the other day in the barn break room, I thought maybe he was going to kiss me?”

She claps her hands together with glee. “I fail to see how this is bad. A hot little holiday fling with your ex who happens to be extremely hot. Hello, it’s not like I haven’t seen his social media pictures, or those magazine spreads he’s done in recent years. Mercer used to be gorgeous, but twenties-something Mercer is a whole other story. You should hop on that.”

“That’s the worst idea you’ve had yet.” I roll my eyes.

She shakes her head with a mouthful of food. “Nah, it’s the best. It’s been what, a couple months since you broke up with that idiot. What was his name?”

“Rich.” My voice sounds hollow to my own ears when I say it.

Gen obviously doesn’t know the whole story, just that the breakup had been messy. Not even my friends at school know how badly he hurt me; I hid the depression pretty well. This brunch isn’t exactly the setting to tell her about how bad my mental health has been recently.

“Uh-oh, if it isn’t double trouble.”

Mercer’s deep timbre hits my spine, and I shiver before turning to look over my shoulder.

There he is, as if conjured by our conversation, walking toward me in gray sweatpants, brown work boots, and a black and brown flannel. The final nail in the coffin? A white backward ball cap. Jesus Christ, this man is a walking porn ad.

And because of Genny’s sexy advice, all I can think about is scaling him like a tree. We lost our virginity to each other back in the day, and I thought that sex was out of this world even then. It was special and the first time I’d ever been so intimate with a boy. Exploring our sexuality and likes had been incredibly fun, and felt grown-up. I have no doubt that he’s only improved since then, and I have to rub my thighs together under the table at the thought of what this Mercer’s hands and cock could do now.

“No way!” Genny jumps up to hug him while I stay seated, shocked that he just appeared as if out of thin air.

He didn’t hear any of that, did he? My God, I’d be mortified.

“Gen, how you doing? It’s been so long.” He smiles as they release each other.

“Soccer superstar, I’m good. I guess you’re better, though. You’re really doing it, huh? I hear all this talk about you, how crazy. And yet you’ve returned to our little town.”

Mercer reaches up to play with the brim of his ball cap at the base of his skull, and it somehow only makes him more attractive, if that’s even possible.

“Yeah, well, gotta see my gramps when I can. Em, good morning.” He turns those baby blues on me, and my heart starts to gallop.

“Hey.” I give a lame wave and curse myself.

It’s the first time we’ve seen each other since he almost kissed me, and I can’t imagine we’ll ever talk about it.

“I’m just going to use the bathroom.” Gen tries to hide her scheming smirk as she gets up and heads down the back hallway.

My heart slams into my chest at her quick exit. It’s so obvious, and now he probably thinks we were talking about him.

Mercer is still standing over me, his blond waves curling under that backward hat in a way that makes my stomach feel like the carbonated soda I’m drinking.

“Can I sit? I’m waiting for my order to bring it home to Grandpa.” His big body slides into the booth across from me, and it’s like I’m transported back to yesteryear.

“That was nice of you. He always loved their maple waffles, right?” My eyes crinkle at the thought of Mercer’s grandpa.

He’s the best of men, a supportive, quiet guide through life, and I am so thankful he’s been there for his grandson.

Mercer chuckles, the sound sending goose bumps skittering over my skin. “That’s right. You remembered.”

“We used to pick them up for him whenever we came back from the movies.”

The memory slips out of my mouth before I can stop it, and I’m surprised it just popped out. Mercer and I had been together for nearly two years in high school, and each time we’d see a Friday night movie, we would bring takeout waffles home for his grandpa.

“Remember when I took you here for our first milkshake?” Those blue eyes bore into mine.

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