Page 27 of Wanting the Winger

Shane refuses to watch shows with me because I ask too many questions.Which is okay because we have very different tastes in shows.He likes action movies and I like quirky comedies and reality shows.

Bruce gets on the couch, half on Bash’s lap and half on mine.Bash reaches behind my head and gets a blanket from the back of the couch, spreading it out to cover Bruce up.

“Has Shane called you since he left Saturday?”

I’m immediately defensive, but I try not to show it.“Yeah, we’ve talked.He’s okay, but for the rest of the summer, he wants me to come to Columbus on weekends instead of him coming here.”

Bash shakes his head.“And how do you feel about that?”

“I get it.He doesn’t feel welcome here.”

My heart is beating faster than its baseline.I’m not used to being so close to Bash.He took a shower while I was sequestered in my room’s bathroom.His dark hair is still damp, curling at the ends.And his lashes are just unfair.Dark and thick, framing caramel eyes with gold flecks.

“Tell me something, Lane.”He rubs a hand over Bruce’s back, his gaze intense as he looks into my eyes.“And be honest.I promise I won’t say a word after if you’ll just answer one question for me.”

I should have a quip cued up, but all I can do is nod.I run my thumb over my engagement ring, feeling guilty over the warmth I feel from being so close to Bash.

“Does Shane make you feel like the most beautiful, sexy woman in the world?Like no one else could ever compare to you.Like he’s all in, out of his mind, head over heels in love with you.”

I swallow and look down.“Bash, it’s not like that in real life.”

He puts a fingertip beneath my chin and tips it up until our eyes meet.His touch makes my skin heat and my pulse pound.“It can be, though.It should.You’re settling.”

“Maybe,” I concede.“But some of us don’t want fireworks and passion.We don’t want to land the hottest person we can and worry constantly about whether we’ll be able to keep them as we get older.We just want stability and companionship.”

He drops his hand.“Stability and companionship?That’s like a commercial for a nursing home.Fuck that.You’re a beautiful, brilliant twenty-four-year-old.You deserve nothing less than fireworks and passion.I’ve got married friends who have it all—they’re best friends who can’t keep their hands off each other.”

I tuck a loose section of hair behind my ear, his words reaching me in a way that makes me uncomfortable.

“Just tell me you’ll think about it,” he says.“That’s all I ask.This is me being completely serious.It’s not really about Shane; it’s about you and what you deserve.”

“Okay.I’ll think about it.”

He sighs heavily, looking aggrieved.“If you want me to apologize to Shane, I will.You shouldn’t have to drive to Columbus every weekend all summer in a car with no air conditioning.”

I smile, surprised he humbled himself enough to even offer.“It won’t be every weekend.He has to work a lot of weekends in the summer and he has video game tournaments sometimes.”

Pursing his lips, he slides Bruce off his lap and gets up from the couch.“Just a sec.”

He walks over to a chair with a decorative pillow on it.Adjusting the pillow so it’s flat on the chair’s seat, he then bends with one hand on the arm of the chair.

His arm muscles cord as he drives his fist into the pillow—hard—about half a dozen times.I’m surprised the pillow doesn’t burst open.Bruce watches him, unfazed.

What the hell is he doing?

He stands upright, takes a deep breath in and out, and comes back to the couch.Standing with his hands on his hips, he says, “Sorry, I just had to get that energy out.”

“Okay, but...why?”

“You.Are.Settling.”He pinches the bridge of his nose.“And as someone who cares about you, it’s painful to watch.I don’t want you to end up miserable.”

“Bash—”

“If you were my girl, and we were two and a half hours apart in the summer, you can bet your ass I’d be on your doorstep by seven thirty every Friday night, and I’d be getting up before sunrise to get back to work on Monday morning so I could have an extra night with you.If he wanted to, he would, Lane.And Shane doesn’t want to.”

If you were my girl.I can’t even take a full breath as I replay his words in my head.Why?Why would Bash say something so thoughtless and cruel to me?He doesn’t mean it.He’s tearing down Shane, an average, everyday man, and making himself out to be the ten I could have if I only dumped Shane.

It’s not realistic.And it hurts.It really, truly hurts my heart that he thinks it’s okay to toy with my feelings this way.He wants me to dump Shane and be alone just so he can feel like he is right.

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