Page 24 of Hearts of Fairlake

"Well, thank you for that, sweetheart. You know how to make me feel special."

"Actually, I took her words and made them nicer. She said if you didn't get out of her house, she was going to commit a felony, and no jury on the planet would convict her once they learned who you are as a person."

"That...sounds exactly like her," I said after a moment.

Not that Bri had a whole lot of room to talk. Neither of us was exactly easy to get along with. Her because she was demanding, bossy, and had exacting standards which could be...difficult to deal with. I’d always felt sympathy and pity for the men she dated right up until I’d met Adam. Back then, I'd needed only to see the calm, measured approach he took to life to see he had a good chance of being able to make it with her...right up until they didn't, and again, I loved my sister, but I didn't blame him in the slightest.

Plus, it was pretty hard to deny that he waswaybetter off with Bennett. Those two complemented one another way too well.

And well, anyone who dealt with me for longer than five minutes knew I was a giant pain in the ass. I never took anything seriously. I was insatiable with my nosiness andalways had something smartass ready to throw out at a moment's notice. It didn't help that dating me came with emotional evasion, concealing my motivations for things, and always seeming to know just how to push someone's buttons without hesitation or concern.

Honestly, being a pain in the ass ran in the family.

"So," Trevor said after a moment, poking at the steak, "was all that true?"

I glared at him, doing my best not to let my already heightened emotions get the better of me and get offended. "When the fuck have I ever lied to you, Trevor?"

"To be fair, you weren't talking to me. You didn't know I was even there," he said before popping the steak into his mouth.

I narrowed my eyes, mostly out of annoyance that he was right, which didn't do much to improve my mood. "Well, I don't have a reason to lie to them either."

He took a moment to swallow. “No, but even with how much you've grown to love and trust people around here, you still fall into old habits. You rarely outright lie, but you do keep truths close to your chest and don't like to give the full story. So I guess I should ask if you gave them the full story and, if not, whether I'll get the full story."

"Well, you probably would have had a chance earlier than today if you hadn't jumped down my throat," I said with a scowl. It had stung when I realized he wasn't going to give me a chance to explain myself when I could see he wasn't going to give me the benefit of the doubt. I'd had enough of that in my life without the man I loved and trusted doing it to me, especially when he, more than anyone, knew how much that bothered me.

His face twisted. “I didn't?—"

"Yeah, you kinda fucking did, Trevor," I snapped. "Don't you dare pretend that isn't what happened. Because if youhadn't done that, you would have heard everything I just said but three days ago."

His scowl deepened as he glared down at his steak as if it had personally offended him. "I...what was I supposed to think, Ethan? It was only a couple of years ago that you flew out of here to go talk about flying to Ecuador or wherever it was to deal with the civil war."

It hadn't been Ecuador, but that wasn't important. "And you got rightfully pissed at me for doing that. But last I checked, we had it out over that and moved on. I learned my lesson, said I was sorry, and haven't done shit like that again."

"So, do you really blame me for thinking you were doing something like that again?" he asked roughly.

"Yes!" I said, throwing up my hands in exasperation. "Because I would hope my boyfriend would trust me enough to respect him. To respect your wishes and not pull that kind of crap again."

"It scared the shit out of me," Trevor said, and I knew fear didn't come easily to him, and it was even harder for him to admit something like that.

"I...okay, I get that," I said, softening slightly at the difficult admission. "But even if it freaked you out, I still deserved the benefit of the doubt. But you didn't give it to me. So now my feelings are fucking hurt, and you're pissed."

"I'm not," he rubbed at his face rapidly, and I knew he was getting more frustrated even as he tried to get his emotions under control. "Look, I'm not pissed...anymore. What I'm trying to say is...I miss you."

I had been ready for anything, but that caught me off-guard. For a moment, I could only stare at him in stunned silence, and then, under the intensity of his gaze, I started to feel self-conscious. I wrapped my arms tightly around one another in front of me, eyeing him carefully. "What?"

"I said, I miss you," he said, his shoulders slumping. "Eventhat first night when I was still pissed, and you'd stomped off?—"

"I didn'tstomp," I protested.

Irritatingly, his lips twitched. “You absolutely did. It's the most noise I've ever heard you make while walking."

I glared at him. “Asshole."

At that, his amusement died, and he sighed. “Well, it's hard to argue with you there."

"Don't start beating yourself up like that's going to make me less mad."

"I'm not. I know stuff like that pisses you off."

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