Page 15 of Drop Three

Then, he can expect my rebellion.

“Meaning, I thought the date was over—turns out it wasn’t. Jared kissed me, giving me no opportunity to deny it, and I felt like shit for turning him down when he shared how he felt about me, so I asked him to be friends. You can connect the dots. Now I’m homeless, hence me showing up at your door late at night.”

I’m getting more annoyed by the second, enunciating every word that leaves my mouth. I hope he catches my drift.

Last night, I was hurt—now I want to bury it and forget it ever happened.

Bodhi is eerily still and quiet, too. I stand and wait for him to respond. I hope he does so soon because I need time to call Tenley and see if I can crash with her for the night.

“Give me your phone.”Excuse me?

He’s so demanding. “I beg your pardon. Why do you need my phone?”

He will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. I don’t answer to anyone.

“Because as soon as the fucking fire racing through my veins burns out, I’m gonna take that heat and light Jared the fuck up.”

“You really are dramatic. Did you take theater? I bet you were the leading actor.” I can’t help but giggle.

I’m not amusing him. “Are you done yet?”

“Pshh, no. You said you would light Jared ‘the fuck up’ through the phone. What are you, pyrokinetic?”

“Give me your phone, Navy.”

Fat chance of that happening, barbarian.

“Absolutely not.”

In the time it takes me to process the seriousness of his demand, Bodhi somehow manages to snatch the phone from my hands and get to work.

Yeah, good luck with that, buddy. It’s password-secured.

“You don’t even know the pass?—”

“121709.”

My jaw drops. How did he know that? I’ve never given him the password, so that makes no se?—

“It’s the date your family adopted Callaway. You forgot he’s my best friend, Navy. I know a lot more than you think.” He doesn’t spare me a glance as he collects Jared’s number and hands my phone back like he didn’t invade my privacy like an overprotective boyfriend.

Because he’s the farthest thing from that.

I need him to back off.

“What’s your plan? You gonna call him and demand he be nice to me?” I ask him with bitterness.

Blatantly ignoring me, Bodhi returns to the stove and resumes preparing his precious bacon and eggs. “For a rainy day.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal.

Ugh. He’s infuriating.

Time to leave before I do something stupid.

I promptly move to the exit and thank my lucky stars. I don’t hear him follow, and I feel a little sad at the thought. As much as I appreciate everything he does for me and how he helped me through such a hard season, I know this is for the best.

“Oh, and Navy?”Not so fast, after all.

I plant myself close to the front door. I don’t hear him moving, so he must have called me from where he’s standing.

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