“Fuck,” Bryson whispered. Could he be a bigger glutton for punishment?
The ellipses popped up on the screen again. A few seconds later came her reply.
Let me know when that better time rolls around so I can shoot my shot again. Take care.
“Fuuuck,” Bryson said again. He threw his head back and stared up at the pristine white ceiling. What in the hell was he doing? There was absolutely no reason for him to turn down Sierra’s invitation. Not a solitary one.
“You know why you turned her down,” Bryson muttered.
He would be too disgusted with himself to look in the mirror after sleeping with Sierra, knowing that he would bethinking about Evie the entire time. He hated this. He hated the thought of turning away someone who actually wanted him because he couldn’t shake the thoughts of someone who refused to commit to being more than a friend.
But that’s the situation he found himself in, no matter how shitty.
He picked up his phone again and texted Sierra.
If things change, you’ll be the first one I call.
Then he flipped over to the texts he’d been exchanging with Evie, because yes, apparently hecouldbe a bigger glutton for punishment.
Are you up for a trip to the bayou tomorrow? The high school in my hometown wants me to speak at their Career Day. You’ve showed me around NOLA, thought I could return the favor. We can talk strategy on the drive.
He stared at the phone while he finished his bottle of water. No reply. No ellipses. Nothing.
“Not everyone is staring at their phone, waiting for random text messages to come through,” Bryson said.
He carried the phone into his bedroom, keeping it in his left hand while he used his right one to pull a pair of lounging pants and a T-shirt from his drawer, along with a pair of boxer briefs.
Still nothing.
Bryson huffed out a derisive laugh, but he was more frustrated with himself than Evie’s lack of a reply. What part ofasking her to join him on a road trip to Houma even remotely resembled the “friendly acquaintance” she’d asked for? Tacking on that they could talk strategy was as transparent as plastic wrap.
“When did you turn into a joke?” Bryson muttered.
He got in the shower and made quick work of washing because he fucking refused to engage in his normal ritual of jerking off, not when he’d just passed on the opportunity to have an orgasm initiated by something other than his hand.
He slung the drying towel from the rack and angrily attacked his limbs, because that made total sense. Like it was his arm’s fault that he was showering alone.
When he returned to his bedroom, he noticed his phone screen had just lit up. The swiftness in which he ran to it told Bryson all he needed to know about how far gone he was. She had him sprinting.
And yet, he couldn’t stop the big, stupid-ass grin that broke out across his face when he read Evie’s text.
Sounds like fun. Let me know what time and where you want me to meet you.
Bryson quickly replied with a time and told her that he would drive over to her house to pick her up. She responded almost immediately, asking if he’d meet her at Barkingham Palace instead. She would be leaving Waffles at the daycare.
I’m sure Ashanti can find a spot for Bella if I ask her nicely.
Bryson replied,Please do. Let me know what she says.
Evie answered with a thumbs-up emoji. He couldn’t explain why that caused his grin to broaden, but it did.
He should stop pretending that there was even the slightest possibility that he would settle for anything less than Evie Williams’s whole heart. He couldn’t do it. When he finally got her to love him, he wanted it all.
CHAPTER TWENTY
It doesn’t feel awkward. How are things not awkward?
Thirty minutes into their drive, and Evie still could not get over how comfortable the mood felt between herself and Bryson. She’d awakened with a weird feeling in her gut that had her picking up her phone to call and back out of today’s trip. She had been so sure she wasn’t ready to face him after their kiss a couple of nights ago.
