Page 59 of Flame After the Fumble

“Are you done fighting it?” He smirks as he leans his forehead on mine.

“Yeah, Hart. I’m done fighting it.”

39

Hartley

“Mmm.” Whiffing in the scent of Liza’s cinnamon spiced hair is my favorite way to wake up. “I love you.” I nuzzle my nose into the crook of her neck. By the way a lazy smile spreads across her face, I can tell she’s reluctantly awake, too. Her fuzzy socks grip around my calf and she cuddles into my shirtless chest closer than she was before.

One eye peeks open. “What was that?”

I tickle her belly, causing her to roll around the bed and wrap herself in the covers. “You heard me, Goldie.”

“So what? I want to hear it again.”

“Liza.” I pinch her side causing her to flip back over to face me. “I’ll scream it on the rooftop if you’d let me. I wanteveryoneto know you’re mine.”

“I like the sound of that.” She giggles.

“Who would have thought my persistence would get me the girl of my dreams?”

Rolling those beautiful eyes, she sits up criss-cross on my bed. “You mean constant aggravation?”

I scoot up, back flush against the bed frame as I shrug in feigned ignorance. “My tendencies have grown on you, and you know it.”

“They have.”

“What do you want to do today?” Wrapping her up in my arms, I pull her to straddle me. My fingers fiddle with the ends of her hair as she stares at my bare chest, unashamed at her blatant ogling. “Finals are over. The world is our oyster.”

Biting her bottom lip, she looks distressed at the thoughts running through her head. “Why do you look stressed?”

“I don’t know if you’ll like my idea.”

“I like all of your ideas.”

“No, you don’t.”

“If you like it, I love it. Now tell me.”

“Bring me home. To your home where you grew up. I want to see everything.”

Within seconds, my mouth goes bone dry and I cough out to buy time to answer the last thing I expected her to say. My instinct is to come up with any excuse to avoid going back.

Her hands plant firmly on my chest as she continues, aware that I’m stalling. “I want it all, Hart. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

“But. . .” My mind races, unable to articulate a response. My first reaction is to tell her no. I want to protect her from that place at all costs, but the other part of me likes the thought of replacing the fractured memories with sweeter ones.

“You aren’t that person anymore,” she assures me with a soothing voice. “We could bring Violet, too. She needs to get out.”

She’s right. Violet’s been struggling with her and Ryan’s breakup worse than any of us could have expected. Her mind keeps her up all night. Luckily, Liza and I have been here to pickup the pieces. I’ve always known how to help her, but everything I do makes it worse, and she’s starting to scare me.

I nod repeatedly before I can change my mind. “Yeah. I want you to see it.”

A few hours later, our bags are packed and loaded into the car. It didn’t take much convincing to get Violet to come. She’s terrified to stay here alone, and with the state she’s been in the past few weeks, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving her. I booked us two hotel rooms right outside of town for the night, and we’ll head back to Springs U in the morning. Going home is one thing. Spending the night in the four walls that forced me to grow up too quickly is another. I don’t think I’ll ever get to a place where I’m ready for that.

Liza reaches back to squeeze Violet’s knee in reassurance. “I’m so glad we’re doing this together.” Violet cracks an almost-smile, but her hollow eyes quickly shift back out the window distracted with her racing thoughts.

My sarcasm is ready to roll. “Ready to uncover my past demons and bask in the place that single-handedly screwed me up?” I drop a tender peck on her lips with my hand on the steering wheel.

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