“Hey, I’m fine,” I reached up and took her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. She didn’t pull back, and I considered that a win. “I’m okay now.”
“You have panic attacks before?” Ty asked, pulling me from the moment I shared with Elle. She let go of my fingers, like Ty’s words reminded her he was there.
“Been a while. Years, actually.”
The first night after learning my parents were gone.
The first holiday without them.
My birthday that year.
I thought I had a handle on the gripping panic that came with losing part of your heart but apparently not.
“Fucking scary each time. You think you remember how it feels but then it happens, and it knocks the wind out of you. Here, let me get you some water.” Ty squeezed my shoulder and left the office.
It was me and Elle now.
“Ty should take you home. I can close out the bar tonight. You need rest.” Her face was pale and her brows tight.
“Fuck that nonsense.” I tried to stand, but she pushed me down. I liked having her hands on both my shoulders. It let me see her lips up close, and god, I wanted to taste them. Feel them for just a second on me. To know what it’d be like to have her kiss me back.
“You need rest, Cal.”
“You’re not staying here alone.”
“I’ll call my brother or something.”
“No. No.” I shook my head, regretting it for a second. The headache started. I hissed but refused to back down. “We’ll close. It’s slow as fuck.”
“You’re not doing anything.”
“I’m not fragile.”
“I know you’re not, okay?” Her tone got all soft and sweet, and she cupped one side of my face with her hands. My body tightened, and my stomach swooped when she rubbed herthumb along my jawline. “How about this? I close up, you do the bare minimum, then we all walk back together.”
“Send Ty home.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” I glared at her, needing her to understand that I hated him seeing me weak. That I wasn’t in control. That I wasn’t a good teammate or captain. He could tell them, and they’d make fun of me or think I couldn’t lead us to a championship this year. “The team…”
She nodded, her breath hitting my face. “Tonight’s a good night for that pizza. I’ll have him leave, but you and I are talking.”
“I’d love that.” I tried smiling, but I was so tired it probably came out weird. If she was taking care of Tyler, I didn’t have to worry, and I closed my eyes. Just a little rest until Elle came back. That was all.
Shit. My neck throbbed, and my head ached from the angle. Where was I?
Right. The bar. Charlie’s office. The attack.
Elle!If she’d walked home alone, I was gonna be pissed. I stood and had a surge of adrenaline to yell at her until I saw her at the bar. She had pieces of paper all over it, her arm moving fast as she wrote with a pencil. She’d put her long hair up into a knot at the top of her head, and she sucked the side of her cheek in as she wrote.
She was beautiful.
“No, no, not that.” She talked to herself and flipped through some of the pages, her legs crisscrossed on the stool. She tappedthe pencil to her teeth before nodding. “Right, because that makes sense. Oh, what an idea, dork.”
“Talking to yourself?” I asked, unable to stop smiling.
She turned fast, her eyes widening. “Cal, hey, you’re up. How are you feeling?”
