Page 45 of You've Always Been Mine

“Well, Holly is an idiot,” I answer.

Her lips twitch ever so slightly, but her eyes remain closed. “I hope so,” she whispers.

“I know so,” I counter.

Olivia smiles softly, but her features slacken seconds later. Her breathing deepens, confirming she’s fallen asleep again.

You didn’t say you had a boyfriend.

I sigh as the baseball guy’s words play in my head, ruining my mood.

I look at Olivia, tracing her delicate features in the dim moonlight shining through the windows, and for the first time in a long time, I’m worried I may like a woman more than she likes me.

I haven’t forgotten that I blabbed that I was in love with her already. And while she admitted she had a crush on me when we were kids, she hasn’t communicated anything deeper. I wonder if I’m more invested in this relationship than she is. And, if so, what that will mean when I do have to return to California?

“Honestly, Liv,” I murmur, “I’m more worried you’re going to be the one to break my heart.”

CHAPTER 24

Olivia

My head is pounding.I wake up in a dark room, but it may as well be bright and sunny with how difficult it is to part my eyelids. My mouth is dry, and my throat is scratchy. I’m not proud of how long it takes for me to remember the reason why I feel so shitty. I’m not normally a liquor drinker. I prefer wine or beer with their known ABV percentages, but Holly convinced me to try the Irish bar’s signature green, long island iced tea last night. Needless to say, I’m regretting it now.

I press the heels of my palms to my eyes, hoping the pressure will relieve the worst of the pain. Thank God it’s Saturday. There’s no way I’d be able to work like this.

As I lie there in agony, fragments of the night slowly piece themselves together. Part of the reason I drank so much was because Holly called me out about my relationship with Derek, and I used the numbing effect of alcohol to assuage my guilt.

Not the healthiest option, I know. Now, I’m paying the price for the immature decision.

The bedroom door creaks open. The hall light isn’t bright, but I wince like a vampire whose coffin is being opened for thefirst time in a hundred years. Feet shuffle over the rug in my room. The bed dips as someone sits beside me, and the smell of familiar woodsy cologne tells me who’s there. That’s when I remember the drunken phone call.

I groan. “I’m so sorry, Derek.”

“What for?”

I lower my hands and force my eyelids open. It takes a minute to focus on the shadowed form next to me. “For calling you so late last night.”

“I’m glad you did,” he says. “I’d rather that than you go home with strangers you just met.”

“I would never.” Even intoxicated, I knew I didn’t want to entrust my or Holly’s safety to the two guys who’d chatted with us at the bar for most of the night. I’d tried to excuse us multiple times, but Holly wouldn’t stop engaging them in conversation, making escape impossible until it was closing time. By then, all the ride shares were already taken.

Derek hums noncommittally. “I got you breakfast.”

“You did?” I sit up, wincing as the movement sends a fresh throb through my skull.

“Yes. A sausage biscuit and hashbrowns. The perfect greasy meal to help absorb some of the alcohol. Want me to bring it in?”

My stomach rumbles. “Yes, please.”

Derek leaves to retrieve the food. I manage to turn on my bedside lamp and brush the hair out of my face by the time he comes back carrying a blue plate. The smell of greasy, delicious goodness wafts into the room. He sits on the bed and offers me the dish.

I take it and immediately bite into the biscuit. The savory flavor hits my tongue and I moan, “Oh my gosh. This is delicious.” I take another bite. “I think I love you.” Immediately, I stiffen and my eyes widen. “I mean, for bringing me food. Likein a joking way. Not the legit way.” I bite the inside of my cheek to stop rambling, and my mortification grows tenfold.

Derek laughs, but it sounds a little forced. “Relax, Liv. I know what you mean. But anyway… it’s not like you’re the first to say those words between the two of us.”

My stomach flips as I remember his declaration earlier this week, but my lingering guilt puts a damper on the budding happiness.

I lower my head and eat my biscuit in silence.

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