Page 145 of Let You Love Me

Chris:

Whoa. No need to yell. In my defense, you said it looked intimate.

Graham:

You seem stressed.

Atlas:

Highly.

Jace:

So, we’ve established they were clothed and you’re stressed. Were they kissing?

Me:

No.

Jace:

In bed but clothed?

Me:

NO! Look, it wasn’t anything so incriminating. They were just staring into each other’s eyes and smiling. But she looked fucking in love with him, okay?

There. I said it.

And it doesn’t feel any fucking better voicing my thoughts than it did by holding them in.

Jace:

Oh, shit.

Atlas:

Ouch.

Graham:

Staring longingly into each other’s eyes is worse than a kiss. So, you think they used to be an item or what?

Me:

I don’t know. I asked her about it shortly after we met, and she led me to believe they’ve never been romantic. In my head, I kept thinking she’d told me no, but I’ve given it a lot of fucking thought since yesterday afternoon and realized she sort of brushed off the question.

I inhale and pinch the bridge of my nose as I recall the photograph. I wasn’t imagining the chemistry between them or the affection in Lane’s eyes. No way. Just remembering her lovestruck expression makes my stomach pitch.

An unbidden thought rises to the surface of my mind.

I try to shove it down, but it’s like a fucking buoy, rising to the surface no matter how much I hold it back.

I grip my phone tighter and stare at the screen.

Just type it.

Fucking ask.

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