“I love you,” he said simply.
I pulled my lower lip into my mouth, hating the way my cheeks burned at his confession.
“I love you.”
From the nightstand, Riggs’s phone chimed with an alert, and he made a very unhappy sound at the interruption.
“I need to get dressed,” he said regretfully. “One of the guys is already here.”
“Don’t let me keep you.”
“I just…really like being around you, I…” Riggs paused and glanced at the lamp on the nightstand. “I feel like myself with you too.”
“I’m glad.”
It was suddenly hard to breathe, so I shoved him against the outside of his arm until he crawled off the bed and finished getting dressed. Riggs looked like a dream in torn black jeans, black leather boots, and a white V-neck t-shirt. His hair was still wet, so he twisted it up into a bun before grabbing his phone and sliding it into his pocket.
“Take as long as you want before you leave,” he said. “I like you being here.”
I nodded, fighting a smile as he left the apartment and headed down to the shop. Once the door was closed, I flopped back into my front and screamed into the pillow. How had this happened? How had I found this man? How had I fallen in love with him so readily and so easily? My heart ached to leave my chest and follow him, but I swallowed hard enough to make sure it stayed in place. I reached out blindly for the nightstand, grabbing my phone and swiping the screen awake.
It wasn’t early, but even if it was, I wouldn’t care. I typed out a message to my brother.
Plans?
He was quick to reply.
Finn
Nothing sticking.
Lunch?
Is this an intervention?
Why? Do you need one?
No. I don’t know. Here or out?
I was about to tell Finn whatever he wanted was fine, but I found I did have a preference.
There.
Make me a tuna melt.
Tinned fish is an abomination.
Pizza.
Okay.
Coming over soon from Silverlake.
You live in Hollywood.
I said what I said.
Finn sent me one last message with a slew of eggplant and splashing water emojis, which I ignored. Before getting out of Riggs’s bed, I sent a quick message to Asha, reminding her I loved her even if I didn’t see her. She replied with a wink and an eggplant, and that was enough dick icons in one day for me to abandon the idea of checking in with Lincoln. He was probably still in bed with Hunter, happily getting boned out of his mind. Or the other way around.
