I also knew I didn’t deserve him. The thing was, Istilldidn’t deserve him.
But he hadn’t cared about that. These last few days, he hadn’t cared atall.
Thatmade Brad sit up and pay attention.
“Morgan has never said an unkind word to me in his entire life,” I continued, curling my fingers around the door handle as Brad pulled into a parking spot. “He’s never treated me like I wasn’t fine just the way I was, he doesn’t care if I eat sugary breakfast cereal or skip a morning run to lie in bed. His worst possible flaw is that he gets up at five every morning, and you know? I’m okay with that, I wanna get up with him and watch the sun rise and kiss him between sips of coffee.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as I spoke, the thought of all the things I’d thrown away by snapping at him catching in my throat.
“He’s aflorist,” Brad said, like that was some kind of crime.
“Yeah,” I said, hopping out of the car and bracing myself. “And you’re an asshole.”
I slammed the door shut and turned to walk away before realizing my kayak was still on top of the car.
Dammit.
I grabbed for the straps, throwing the release open and knocking the kayak down, catching it like I’d done before.
Morgan would’ve just plucked it off the roof for me like it was no big deal.
Brad hadalwaysleft me to get my own kayak down.
That should’ve told me everything I needed to know about the difference between them.
It wasn’t that Ineededthe help.
It was that Morgan had provided it without ever needing to be asked, because that was the kind of person he was, and Brad would have sneered at me if I’d asked for his help. Even when we were together.
I probably didn’t deserve Morgan, but I deserved better than that.
“Asshole, huh?” Brad asked, stalking around the car as I tucked my kayak under my arm, gripping my bag strap.
“Yeah,” I said, hoping my voice sounded more even than it felt. I’d expected to make a dramatic exit, not to defend my position. “You’re an asshole.”
“Fighting words, coming from you,” Brad said, smiling what would have been a coy, boyish smile if I didn’t know him so well. “This mean we’re not friends anymore?”
Bracing myself, I made sure I had a solid grip on my bag and my kayak so I reallycouldmake an exit this time. Nothing worse than two embarrassing half-assed dramatic exits in a row.
“You know,” I began, taking a deep breath. This next part was hard to say, but it wastrue, and we both needed to hear me say it. “I’m not sure we were ever friends.”
I didn’t pause to see if that parting shot hit the mark, turning on my heel—narrowly avoiding hitting Brad’s car with my kayak, though he would’ve deserved it if I had—and walking away, head held high.
Lip trembling, eyes stinging with tears.
23
Morgan
My heart sankat the sucking, whining, wet protesting of my van’s tires as they stuck fast in the mud. I’d swerved to the side to let some dickhead in a Jeep fly past me at twice the goddamn speed of sound, whopping and hollering the whole time, and that’d taken me off the gravel road and into the muddy embankment.
And I was stuck.
Seven-twenty, and I wasstuck. Devin’s start time could be any minute now, and here I was, trying to get to him in the pouring rain, tires spinning in liquid mud that just splattered behind me as I hit the gas.
Dammit.
Thunder rolled overhead.
