I’ve never wanted something as badly as I thought I wanted a life with Lennox and Blake.
“I’m sorry. I thought it would be fun to surprise you. I shouldn’t have—”
“Now’s not a good time,” Lennox says. Nervousness hangs on his words. “We’re working.”
“You work a lot.” My gaze drifts over their decidedly non-work attire.
What would I find if I pried Blake’s fingers from the door? A woman? Another group project? Or if I want to be less dramatic, maybe they’re on a video call for work, and it’s Sleep-in Saturday—show up as you are. The lesser known counterpart to Dress-Down Friday. Or they’ve used a wall to map out a master plan for our future and they’re not ready for me to see it.
There’s only one way to find out, and if I walk away, I’ll never know. My heart hurts. My stomach hurts. My head hurts. Existence is pain. Running away would be so much easier.
But Trena’s right. Life can’t just be all good. She pointed out that if someone only likes your ‘good’ parts, eventually they’ll see the least good part of you and not like it.
The only way through will be to Red Rover them. Lunging toward the door, I catch them by surprise. Blake stumbles backward, losing hold of the door, causing Lennox to lose his balance.
“Let’s get the big secret out of the way. Where is she?”
Blake grabs my arm. Lennox steps firmly in front of me and says, “She? We don’t have a woman here.”
“Why did you both block the door like you’re guarding national secrets?” I try to maneuver past them but they sandwich me.
Why the fuck does my traitorous body like this so much? I’m going to have to beg Trena to teach me to think first. I can’t go on like this.
Blake mumbles, “That’s a lot closer to the truth.” Fortifying his voice, he adds, “I swear there’s no one here but us.”
A laugh busts out of me.National secrets. I handed them that gem. “Then you won’t mind if I come inside.”
Lennox goes pale. His eyes seem to meet Blake’s behind me. They don’t move.
I can take a hint. If this is a ‘like father, like son’ scenario, I’m prepared to learn where Henry got it. I try to harness logical thoughts. Seeing a woman in their bed? Actually running might be the wise option.
But I have to know. Ducking and wiggling out from between them, I rush to the hallway. There are three doors and the center one is clearly the bathroom.
Checking the room on the left, I stare at the bed. A thick, black vest labeled ‘Police’ staggers me—a potential different roleplay?
I step forward. My hand settles on the handcuffs sitting beside the vest. They’re not the fun, fuzzy, or flimsy versions. Hooking a finger into the cold metal, I confirm the weight and shiver.
My heart stops.
Who are they? I back up and bump into one of them.
“I can explain,” Lennox says. His hands grip my arms, pulling me into his chest.
I want to stay. I want to turn back time. I want to believe that we had something real.
Tears well in my eyes. I jerk away, turn past the bathroom, going straight for the other bedroom.
It’s a mess.
My gaze drifts over the t-shirts and sweatpants and jeans strewn everywhere. Haven’t they only been here a few days? Is that a lie too?
I’m no longer looking for anything in particular. The idea of a woman being here has been replaced by something worse. They lied about who they are.
“You’re not developers.” A deeper lie hits me. “Are you even Henry’s father?”
The answers don’t matter. The fact that the questions have to be asked is the problem. And Trena worried I wouldn’t be myself withthem. I blink back tears. As I turn to leave, my gaze sweeps over the rest of the room.
Lennox wraps his arms around me. I’m too shocked to resist.
