He’s not that guy anymore.
Georgia speaks up. “I think we’re all doing the same thing, if you think about it. We’re all just running. Different directions, maybe, but always running from our fears and pain. This wouldn’t make sense if we were all perfect.”
She looks at me, then Emmett, then Brody, and the clarity in her gaze makes my stomach twist. “I try to keep everyone happy, so I never have to feel alone. Miles tries to control everything so nothing hurts. Emmett runs before anyone can leave him. And Brody…” She hesitates, then smiles. “Brody builds walls so high no one can get through.”
No one argues. Emmett just looks away, jaw tight. Brody stares at his hands. I feel so fucking exposed, but also…better.
“I don’t want to go,” I say finally, surprised at the steadiness of my voice. “And I don’t really know what the risk of staying is, but I’ll take it.” I reach out to Georgia and pull her in against me.
Emmett leans forward, elbows on knees. “I’m scared of caring too much,” he says, not quite meeting Georgia’s eyes. “It’s easier to just be the fun one, the flake. Less chance of getting fucking obliterated, you know? But I’ll stick it out.”
Brody nods, an almost imperceptible movement. “I’m afraid of failing all of you,” he says. “That I’ll wake up one day and realize Catherine was right. But I’ll keep fighting my inner battles.”
Georgia squeezes my hand, then reaches for Emmett’s, her fingers lacing through his. She shifts, leaning against Brody’s thigh, anchoring all four of us together.
“So we’re all scared,” she says. “But at least we’re scared together.”
“Yep, and that’s how we’re going to stay,” I say, leaning in to kiss the top of Georgia’s head.
Emmett snorts. “Scared?”
“Shut up,” I say. “You know exactly what I meant. Thetogetherpart. We’ll figure the rest of it out.”
“Eventually,” Georgia sighs, brushing her hair out of her face.
I sure as hell hope so.
Chapter 26
Brody
We’ve all bared our fucking scars or souls or whatever you want to call it, and now, all that’s left is…us.
Georgia’s head is resting on my thigh, gazing up at the clouds. Emmett is sprawled on the bench with a foot in her lap and an arm slung across my shoulder, and Miles is perched on the deck rail, hair stuck out at wild angles and eyes red-rimmed but clear.
We all look like the aftermath of a night out, not the survivors of emotional nuclear fallout. And it’s stupid hownormalthis all feels.
Georgia twists to look at me, bopping me on the nose. “Should we eat something?” she asks, voice hoarse. “I haven’t even made breakfast yet.”
Emmett’s eyes flicker over to her, and he grins. “Or we could skip that and go straight to the real meal.”
Miles shoots him a look, but Georgia only returns the look, mischievous and sweet at the same time. “Let’s go below then.”
Not a single one of us argues with that invitation. I haul Georgia up by the waist, and the four of us funnel into the boat.
Once we’re in my cabin, Miles sits at the edge of the bed, watching Georgia. Emmett circles behind her, hands settlinglightly at her shoulders. She breathes out, her face flushing with what I already know is arousal.
And my cock is already standing at attention for her.
Emmett bends, pressing his lips to Georgia’s neck. She tips her head, inviting it. I love the way she closes her eyes, surrendering to the feeling.
Miles peels his T-shirt off and leans back, watching her every move. Georgia locks eyes with him and then crosses the room and climbs onto his lap, kissing him softly at first, then with an intense hunger.
I watch her fingers dig into Miles’s chest as Emmett crowds in from behind, kissing her shoulder, then her jaw. There’s something in the way she lets her body be passed between them that’s so incredible.
It’s trust.Realtrust.
“Brody,” she gasps, between kisses. She reaches for me, and I cross the room, pressing my mouth to hers.
