I pushed off his chest, shaking my head at his absurdity. “There is no ride without you.”
He drew me into his side and I drifted off into the best sleep of my life. I’d make Dylan stay until my parents arrived back home and we’d finally tell them. The life I wanted was finally mine, and it was time everyone knew.
* * *
“Wake up, sweet girl.” Dylan bit my neck as I groaned.
“It’s too early.” I yawned and buried my head under my pillow.
“I’m going to make you the best pancakes you’ve ever had.” He smacked my ass through the sheets. “Get up!”
“Best?” I rolled over and glared at him with one eye open. “We’ll see about that. Mine are the best. Ask my brother.”
“Sounds like a challenge.” He tapped his chin. “I’ll win, but you can still try.”
I jumped off the bed and raced into the kitchen with Dylan hot on my heels and fisting the bottom of my nightshirt to yank me back. I pulled away and opened the door—landing right into something in the middle of the hallway.
Or someone.
My lungs stilled as my heart galloped against my ribcage, my panicked brain taking a quick inventory. Dylan shirtless behind me, the absence of pants or shorts on my legs, and my father’s black, cold eyes. His olive skin paled as his jaw ticked.
“Get in the living room,” he said. His voice was low and shaky, and almost indiscernible. Anger radiated off of him in waves. I froze, unable to speak or move when he took half a step closer.
“And get dressed.”
29
Danielle
JACK:Meet me outside.
I stared at my phone, reading the simple sentence a few times. Some patients snuck outside for a cigarette, but it was frowned upon this late. How clandestine was this thing between Jack and me going to get? Texting all night, kisses in a closet, and now sneaking out after hours.
ME: You’re outside?
JACK: I am, why I said to meet me. Nice job connecting the dots. I’m by the bench closest to the parking lot, and I have a surprise.
ME: How did you get outside?
JACK: I walked through an open door. Kind of my therapy goal, right?
ME: You’re exhausting.
JACK: I know, so you may as well come outside now.
I threw my phone across the desk in exasperation, my cheeks hurting from yet another smile I couldn’t get rid of. I hated and loved what he was doing to me.
I loved how he made me feel, how right things felt between us, even though what we were doing was all kinds of wrong.
I hated knowing how fleeting it was, no matter how permanent it may have seemed. Jack would leave, get back to his old life, and find out he didn’t need me anymore. He said he didn’t want us to end, and I believed him, but the notion of him wanting me after he was fully healed wasn’t something I even remotely considered.
Cliff had made me feel so worthless, I could never shake it. It was ingrained in me, like my hair color or my height. It was a part of who I was. The humiliation of our divorce implanted a cruel voice in my head that wouldn’t stop taunting me.
My shoulders shivered from the slight chill in the air. It was one of those late August nights with a hint of a fall bite.
“There she is.” Jack stood from the bench, unzipping his hoodie.
“Cold?” He flashed me a grin before draping it over my shoulders. “Come, sit.”
