Grant ended our conversation and left me staring at my call log.
Naturally, once I quieted one source of my uneasiness, I fixated on the other. Cadence’s name drew my gaze from when she called me a week ago.
I swallowed, my finger hovering over her name, itching to hit it.
She had shut me out after that. Withdrawn completely.
Jade kept me in the loop though, after accidentally letting it slip that Cadence and Elijah had officially broken up, assuming I already knew. I’d gotten a little worried about Cadence when I heard nothing from her, especially after the conversation we’d had.
Elijah. What a fucking idiot.
Did he not realize what he had? What he’d just let go?
If he hadn’t figured it out by now, he wouldsoon. The question was, though, what would Cadence do when he came crawling back?
And what did her being single mean for me?
I drummed my fingers on my leg as I bit the inside of my cheek. My body becoming twitchy and restless.
Over the past few days, I’d reached for my phone to check on her more times than I cared to admit. But each time I stopped myself. I refused to chase after someone unavailable.
Not that I was chasing.
I didn’t know what I was doing.
I wanted to give her space while giving myself space.
I thought about her too much—the sound she made when she laughed, how she always smelled like fresh apples, and how her smile warmed my heart.
I couldn’t forget how I dreamed about her lips on mine or fantasized about being between her thighs.
But all of that did no one any good, and I had to stop.
Somehow.
And now, with her leaving Elijah—the main reason I’d never allowed myself to succumb to my desires—had disappeared.
Sure, I didn’t want to become attached to anyone or let them into my world, but those reasons for holding back were much easier to push aside in the heat of the moment. I could easily rationalize those away once I had Cadence in my arms, and give in to my carnal need for her.
I was fickle like that.
This meant that I needed to get myself in check sometime between now and the next time I saw her. I had to make sure I would respect her boundaries.
Deep down, though, I realized nothing would hold me back once I caught her alone again.
We had chemistry.
A pull.
Magnets drawn to one another with no way to control it.
It had been there since we first met this past summer.
And that attraction would be what drove us into territory we’d never be able to come back from.
Once I had her, I’d never let go.
I put my hands in my hair and tugged. I should be concentrating on my vocals, how to sell more merch, or how to set up faster. Not contemplating how Cadence’s breakup affected me.
