Page 76 of The Triple Play

“No.” My feet led me down the short hallway to the foyer, and I grabbed my slip-on boots from the floor, pulling them on one at a time. “I’m gonna fix it.”

Colton scoffed, and Cole’s voice carried through the hall. “By doingwhat, exactly?”

I didn’t answer. Just grabbed my keys.

The door slammed behind me.

The sky outside was almost bruise-colored, dark clouds stretching low over the neighborhood and the fog of rain in the distance. I slid into my black BMW M4, heart thudding in my chest like I’d just skated off a penalty kill. The engine rumbled to life beneath me, a low growl that matched the twisting of my stomach.

Dad had her address. I knew that. And I hadn’t asked for it until now, hadn’t wanted to cross that line.

But I was done waiting. Done wondering.

I backed out of the driveway and set the satnav.

————

I didn’t knock like I should’ve. I pounded on the door instead, heavy and impatient.

When the door finally swung open, she stood there, barefoot in leggings and a baggy shirt, my hoodie hanging loosely from her shoulders. Her hair was a mess. Her eyes were puffy. No makeup, no smile, just hell in human form.

“Xavi?” She blinked at me like I was a ghost, like she wasn’t quite sure I was real, her eyes roving over the still-healing cut on my jaw from the fight in Denver. “What are you?—”

I didn’t let her finish.

I stepped in, cupped her face, and kissed her.

Weeks of silence, of ignored texts and calls, of wondering if I’d said too much orbeentoo much melted from me in an instant the moment my mouth met hers. She was so soft beneath my touch, her body frozen for just a moment before I felt her fingers clutch the front of my shirt just barely. But she didn’t pull away.

I pushed her back against the closest wall, not fully realizing that it was the side of a refrigerator until it swayed just a little with her weight, but I didn’t care. I kicked the door shut behind me.

The smell of her hit me hard, her shampoo and body wash too familiar to me now. She tasted the same, and I hoped to god I didn’t smell like booze — I shouldn’t have, not when Cole hadn’t let me have that first one, but the worry still hit me.

I broke the kiss slowly, my breath tangled up in hers, my fingers wrapped in her hair. She stared up at me, eyes wide and a little damp, her lower lip trembling.

“I had to see you,” I breathed, my thumbs brushing across her cheeks. My heart was racing, my throat raw. “It’s been almost three weeks.”

Her breathing went a little unstable. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I don’t care.” I let my forehead drop to hers. “You disappeared. You won’t text me—us—back. I know I’m supposed to be giving you time, but I… I can’t. I’m losing my fucking mind, Annie.”

A small, choked little noise came from her, and the ache in my chest came roaring back to life. I’d never seen her this much of a mess, not even the night at Smokey’s, and all of my usual ease in talking down a person who was upset went out the window. I didn’t know how to do it in situations like this. Strangers? Easy. The woman I was slipping into madness over? Chaotically difficult.

“Please, baby,” I croaked, pressing my mouth to hers again, wanting it to be soft and easy and persuasive, but my body was so desperate for her that it moved on its own. The kiss was messier than intended, my fingers gripping her tight, my throat closing in with every lazy drag of her lips to my fevered ones.

It felt like she wasn’t meeting me halfway.

I tried to pull her closer, but her palms pressed against my chest, flat, gentle, but insistent.

It took everything in me to pull my mouth from hers again.

“I can’t.”

My heart thudded painfully in my chest. “What do you meanyou can’t?” I rasped.

Her eyes lifted to mine, glassy and bloodshot, tears gathering in the corners. “It’s over, Xavi.”

My stomach dropped. I swear, my heart stopped beating, the constant, aching thudding pausing. “No, it’s not.”

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