Page 26 of Chasing Forever

“We were in that situation because ofhim, and that fucker just took off. Tried to get out of town before anyone caught on. Trick found him before he could skip town.That’swhy Trick is our father. That other guy stopped existing for me the moment his choices put my sister’s and my lives at risk.”

I moved on instinct, closing the very last bit of distance between us and wrapping my arms around Tristan’s waist. He froze for the length of two heartbeats before lifting his arms and closing them around me, tightening the hug. It was the first time we’d touched in such a way. While the intimacy of the embrace made my heart race and my skin feel tight, I ignored the instinct clawing at me to let go and run out of there before things could go any further, stomping that feeling down.

It didn’t matter I was drawn to the man in a way that felt exciting and dangerous at the same time. What I felt for him became stronger every day, scaring the absolute shit out of me.

It didn’t matter, because this was what he needed. After sharing such a painful story, he needed care and comfort, and offering him that was the very least I could do, given all he’d done for Levi and me.

“If I knew all it took to get a hug from you was to share a sob story, I would have told you a long time ago.”

I pulled back and pursed my lips, shooting him a glare. “Don’t be a smartass.”

I whipped around and stomped away from the island. “Wait, wait!” he called after me, humor dripping from his words. “Don’t go.”

I stopped and turned back to face him, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I need to tell you about the time I was playin’ dodgeball and got hit in the stomach so hard I peed my pants. It was an incredibly tragic moment that still scars me to this day.” He lifted his arms out to his sides. “Hug it out?”

I flipped him off and stormed out of the kitchen, but as the sound of his laughter followed after me, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

Chapter Fifteen

Tristan

Iwalked into the bullpen at work, my hands laden down with to-go cups from Muffin Top. Harrison’s eyes brightened the second they landed on me.

He shot to his feet, arms outstretched. “Ah, you are a prince among men.”

His brows pulled together when I yanked my arm back before he could grab one of the cups. I tsked and shook my head. “That’ll be six dollars and fifty cents.”

“What?”

“I might be a prince among men, but I’m not made of money, asshole. You want your coffee, pay up.”

“Cheap bastard, can’t just do something nice for his buddy.” He grumbled a string of colorful curses at me from under his breath as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and began riffling through. “All I got is a ten.”

I extended the coffee his way and waited for him to take it so I had a free hand to pluck the bill from his fingers. “Consider the rest delivery fee and tip.”

“You aren’t Postmates, asshole,” he called as I moved to my desk and took a seat. “See if I getyoua coffee next time.”

Harrison never stopped for coffee on the way into work, but wouldn’t hesitate to text me his order in the mornings on the off chance I planned on going. That was why I didn’t feel bad about taking his money.

I ignored my pouting partner and booted up my computer, ready to get to work.

“What’s gotten into you this morning?” Harrison asked, staring at me from across our desks like I’d grown a third eyeball in the center of my forehead.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’rewhistling. It’s eight in the morning. No one should be that goddamn cheerful.”

I chuckled and shook my head. Harrison and I had been partners long enough that I was used to him being a surly asshole in the mornings. The man didn’t people very well until he had at least one cup of coffee in his system.

“Nothing’s gotten into me. I’m in a good mood.” What I didn’t tell him was that my good mood was because of the hug Merritt had given me the night before. It might seem ridiculous to people on the outside that something as simple as a hug was enough to brighten my entire week. But those people didn’t know Merritt. They wouldn’t understand how major it was that she would initiate that type of contact.

Given everything she suffered through, it was understandable she’d shied away from touch when it came to me or other men. I’d been slowly testing my limits so I wouldn’t risk doing something that might trigger her. A brush of the hand here, a short, friendly touch there. But I kept the lines very, very clear, and did not cross them until she showed me she was comfortable. She’d loosened up a great deal around me, but I didn’t miss the way she’d subtly move off course in the grocery store aisle if a man was coming from the other direction, shifting closer to the shelves to make more space in the middle.

She did the same thing on sidewalks. She didn’t mind the closeness with Blythe, but when Rhodes had swung by the house the other day to drop off a ratty old dresser Merritt and my sister had picked up at an estate sale, I noticed she’d unwittingly backed up when he breeched that invisible line she kept around herself. He’d noticed as well, but instead of making a thing of it, he’d quietly respected her space and made sure to stay back as far as she needed.

That hug she’d given me the night before was proof I’d gotten through those shields she had up. She’d let me in, and that trust she had in me was continuing to grow. I’d meant it when I told her that was a gift, and I couldn’t put into words what it meant to me.

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