My basket banged against my thigh as we dodged and weaved through the throngs of people, the top layer of food nearly rolling out when I was yanked off of the sidewalk and to a small patch of grass closer to the parking lot.
When he finally stopped, we were a few hundred feet from where I’d caught him canoodling with whatever-the-hell that guy was.
Friend?
Boyfriend?
Lover?
Each title made me more nauseous than the previous one.
“What are you doing?” Brandon demanded.
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t, Avery. You know exactly what I’m talking about. What’s with the attitude?”
Sucking my tongue back against my teeth, I contemplated being brutally honest. That guy wasn’t shit and Brandon deserved better.
Did I have any proof to back any of my opinions up outside of my own mother-given intuition?
Absolutely not.
So I resorted to the next best thing. “You’re avoiding me.”
His eyes went wide. “No. I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. Don’t fucking lie to me, Brandon. You think it’s cute that you ignored my emails and then I catch you out here with what’s-his-face?”
“Max,” he supplied.
“Whatever.” Between the both of us, we knew why Brandon was avoiding me. Why he’d ignored me when I’d requested to see him in person or even talk to him on the phone.
Why bring it up when I already knew the damn answer?
It was my fucking fault that we were in this mess of a situation anyway. Blaming him was ridiculous and we both knew it. None of that was stopping my stupid mouth from continuing to run—fueled by whatever emotion was currently auto-piloting my goddamn idiot brain.
“Stop it,” I said, my tone firm.
“Stop what?” his voice croaked back.
My hand tightened around the basket. “You know what. Don’t play dumb, you’re smarter than that.”
God, what was I fucking saying to him?
That wasn’t fair. I needed to stop before I actually ruined what little threads left we still had connecting us together. This fragile and delicate state could only handle so much before there would be nothing that either of us could do to fix it.
He swallowed visibly. “I’m sorry. For...”
My heart pounded in my chest. “Don’t be. I’m not.”
His lips parted in shock.
The confession wasn’t planned in the slightest. In fact, I had no idea I felt that way until this very moment when the words were suddenly tumbling out of my mouth. But now that they were out there, it was hard to regret them, as disgusting as it made me seem for coming onto him the way that I had.
Causing any kind of discomfort for Brandon was the last thing I ever wanted to do. Yet, at the same time, I couldn’t get him or what happened before everything went to shit, out of my head. I’d never been turned on like that before, never felt that out of my mind with desire that I’d practically come in my own pants just by rubbing up against another body.
His intoxicating smell, his provocative moans, the way he’d unconsciously moved his body against mine.
