Page 20 of Not Made to Last

I jerk my head toward his gate. “Get out.”

He chuckles as he opens the door. “Goodbye, Liv.”

“Goodnight, Rhys.”

9

Olivia

It’s almost 2 a.m. by the time I pull into my driveway, and it’s only then that I notice the wad of cash Rhys left on the passenger’s seat. With everything else that happened tonight, I’d forgotten about our little deal, about the money he’d offered me to “spend the night with him.”

Without hesitation, I reach over and grab the stash, momentarily surprised by the thickness of the stack. There are a bunch of twenties, and even a few fifties. I’m almost scared to count them all, but I do.

Five hundred dollars.

And with it, a withdrawal receipt from the gas station ATM with the same amount.

My breath halts when realization dawns.

Rhys may or may not have had any cash in his wallet, but he was willing to pay me up to five hundred bucks just to spend a couple of hours with him.

Before I get a chance to break down exactly what he was thinking, the porch light flicks on and the front door opens.I quickly grab the money and pocket it just as Dominic steps outside. In shorts and a T-shirt, he makes his way to Max’s door and opens it, asking, “Did he get to sleep okay?”

“Yeah.” I get out of the car and wait for Dom to get Max out of his seat before gathering his backpack and iPad from the floor of the truck. “Did you wait up for us?”

“Of course,” Dom answers, his dark, loose curls falling across his forehead, over his eyes. He jerks his head back, ridding them from his view.

After closing the truck door, I follow after them. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Dom waits until we’re in the house before he turns to me, saying, “You call and say you hit some random guy with your truck and that you have to take him to emergency… yeah, Ollie, I’m waiting up for you.”

“You could’ve called.”

“And have you worried that I was worried?” That’s true, and I really shouldn’t be surprised that he stayed up for us. That’s how we work—Dom and me—I’m the provider, and he’s the protector.

I wait until they’re up the stairs and out of view before going to my bedroom. Then I shut the door. Lean against it. I take a moment to breathe. Just… breathe.

Tonight has been wild, to say the least, and I’m not quite sure I’m ready to unwrap it. Not that there’s a lot to unwrap, besides, you know, whether or not I can trust Rhys—a guy I barely know—with my entire existence.

10

Rhys

A few hours ago, bodies filled the entire floor level of my house, most of them drunk or high. Some of them both. Music blared from the corner of the living room, the bass shaking the walls and rattling the windows. I scrunch my nose as I walk past the kegs sitting on the kitchen island, the smell more potent now than it was when I first tapped it.

Looking back, it’s no wonder I wanted to get the fuck out of this place. But now it’s quiet—almosttooquiet. And, honestly, I don’t know which I’d prefer.

The glass sliding doors leading to the yard are still wide open, and I step through, my sights set on the pool house only yards away. I kick away empty beer cans, glass bottles, and Solo cups as I approach it, ignoring the rest of my surroundings. I don’t have to take full stock of the remnants of the party to know that the house is trashed. Beyond it. I just can’t bring myself to give a shit. At least not yet.

I have one hand on the doorknob of the pool house when a familiar voice speaks up from behind me. “That’s gotta be your longest run yet.”

I stop in my tracks, my shoulders dropping just enough that he wouldn’t notice. I expected my friend, Oscar, to still be here, though I thought he’d be passed out in one of the bedrooms of the main house. It’s not that I don’t want him here; it’s just that, right now, I have other priorities.

“I didn’t think you were coming back this time.”

My chest rises with my inhale, and I turn around to see him lying in one of the loungers, his eyes wide open as he stares at the few visible stars.

Besides ball, there are two things Oscar and I have in common. We crave silence as much as we fear it, and we never, ever trust the darkness to keep us safe.

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