Page 48 of Back To You

“Never.” I shake my head, hoping to bring thoughts back into my brain. “While I’d much rather look at you wrapped inmytowel, get dressed. The rink opens at nine.”

“I’m not running errands with you.” She looks down at the towel she’s holding around her, and I follow her gaze. “And it’smytowel now.”

I don’t even register what she says because my eyes are now fixed on the bite mark just above where she’s holding the towel around herself, the sight of the red indent going straight to my groin.

She sees my eyes still on her chest, looking down and shaking her head. “Didn’t know you liked to bite,” she teases. She’s trying to sound like she couldn’t care less, like she’s just giving me a hard time, but I know better.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Annie girl.”

She rolls her eyes. “What I do know is I have my own errands to run. So, move.” She squeezes past me to get through the door and over Rosie who is still laying justoutside the bathroom, heading straight to the guest room, but I don’t give her time to close the door, being only a step behind her. “Perfect. We can make any stop you need when we’re out. I’ll even buy you a matcha.”

She ignores me as she pulls a pair of underwear, shorts, and tank top out of the laundry basket at the foot of her bed, her room even more of a mess than the last time I peeked inside it. Turning around and wanting me to leave for her to change, she huffs, “Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Go ahead and drop the towel, honey.” I give her a smirk and cross my arms, leaning against the door frame. “Like you said, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Her brows furrow, and I can almost see the thought of throwing something at me cross her mind.

She just has to ask me again, and I’ll leave her alone, but instead, she shrugs her shoulders and smiles, calling my bluff. “Fine.” She drops her towel and my knees go weak. “I need to pick up some baking supplies. We can stop at the store after we pick up Rosie’s food.”

My head falls back just as the towel hits the floor, and I don’t even care about the groan I make. Partly because I’m annoyed at how she never fails to do the opposite of what I think she’s going to do. The other part because she has no idea what her bratty little tendencies do to me.

I reach out, gripping the door hard enough for my knuckles to turn white. “We’re leaving in ten minutes,” I growl, and I shut the door before she has time to tell me no.

Chapter 19

Annie

Somewhere between Luke reaching into the shower this morning to get his toothbrush wet rather than use the sink that wasrightthere, and him shutting the guest room door with a literalgrowl, I told myself that I couldn’t avoid this conversation we need to have any longer.

But it’s not the conversation I thought we needed to have.

I let my feelings for Luke get the best of me last night. I don’t regret it. I don’t think there’s anythingwrongabout what we did. It was one of the best orgasms I’ve had.

Knowing Luke was there watching me while I got myself off was a literal wet dream come true, but it definitely complicates things.

It was so much more than something physical.

It felt so good to let the walls I’ve built so high come down, and now that I know what it feels like, I don’t want to put them back up.

Letting people in is hard for me. I learned early on in my life that people tend to use your weaknesses against you, especially the people closest to you. It happened with my parents; it happened with my four closest friends.

It even happened with Luke.

When you let people in, you give them total power over you.

It’s taken me years to build walls tall enough that people can’t climb over them and strong enough that no one can break them down, but I am exhausted.

I thought keeping people at arms-length was the only way I would feel safe, but I was wrong.

People like Mia and Drew, Eddie and Emmett, they make me feel safe. I can let my walls down around them—Iwillinglygive them the power to hurt me because I know they never will.

And last night, Luke made me feel that way too.

But my mind can’t help but spiral when I think about our history, the memories, his betrayal. I can’t go through that again. I don’t think I’ll make it through it alive this time around because there’s so much more to lose.

I thought it would be easy to put space between us.

And when that didn’t work, I thought the answer was closure.

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