Another buzz.
Milton: Sure that’s all it is?
I don’t answer.
What the hell am I supposed to say? Yeah, man, actually I can’t stop seeing the way she looked up at me like I was the only solid thing holding the world together for one damn second? Like maybe I wasn’t just the loudmouthed hockey player everyone expects me to be?
No fucking way.
I flip the phone facedown and let out a breath through my teeth. The room goes quiet, my hand throbs, but it’s nothing compared to the restless burn under my ribs.
“She’s a Lennox,” I mutter, dragging a hand over my face. “That’s all this is.”
Except that’s a lie too.
Because when I close my eyes, I don’t see Benton.
I seeher.
Bayleigh on the sidewalk, clutching that folder like it was the only thing keeping her upright. Her hands shaking but still reaching for the papers scattered across the concrete. Her scent—clean mint threaded with green tea—cutting through the blood and adrenaline like a punch straight to the center of my chest.
And then that sign she made at me. That soft, simple motion she probably does a hundred times a day.
Thank you.
I didn’t understand it then, but I looked it up and then felt it. Every damn inch of it.
I sit up, elbows braced on my knees, ice pack sliding to the floor.
Maybe… maybe Idosee what Lincoln sees. What Milton sees. What neither of us wants to admit out loud.
There’s something about her. She’s stronger than she looks. The kind of strong that isn’t loud or flashy. The kind you only notice when the world tries to knock you down and you refuse to stay there.
“This is stupid,” I mutter. “She’s Lennox’s sister. Off-limits. End of story.”
But the image of her small, fierce, trembling but unbroken, won’t leave me alone.
And worst of all?
It doesn’t scare me like it should. It pulls. Hard.
I’m not supposed to care. I don’t want to care. But something in me shifted the second that asshole touched her.
And for the first time…I’m starting to think my resolve isn’t just cracking.
It’s already gone.
24
Bayleigh
By the timeI get home, all the adrenaline from earlier has faded. It’s replaced by something equally chaotic—anticipation. A nervous sort of excitement that is as thrilling as it is scary. Today has been full of so much unexpectedness. Being attacked. Korbin saving me. Lincoln asking me out on a date. And not just any date; a real date with a man, an alpha who’s fucking hot and kind.
Then he sent me the video. Just like he said he would. Signing as he asked me out. Someone who wasn’t interested, or just playing games, wouldn’t be as invested as he is right now. Would they?
I shake it off and go about making myself something to eat. I rifle through the refrigerator, hoping there’s still some leftovers from last night. Mom made the most amazing meatloaf, and I’m craving more of it. I can’t help but wiggle my ass in triumph when I find a container with just enough of the meal left for me.
It doesn’t take but a few minutes for the microwave to warm it up, and I carry it over to the table, cautiously so as not to burn my hands. As I eat, I watch the video on replay. I can tellhe’s nervous, but he did it amazingly. There were just a couple of minor errors in the way he positioned and moved his hands, but that’s to be expected from a novice.
