Page 52 of Fall Hard

I smiled faintly. “I’m a little concerned that I had a better time than you.”

She shook her head. “Definitely not, I’m feeling highly satisfied.” She grinned at me and I grabbed my jacket as we made our way outside.

Was this like the kiss? Were we going to ignore this had ever happened? Did she want more? I opened my mouth to ask but then closed it again. What didIwant? A few weeks ago, I probably wouldn’t have taken the time to ask myself that question and I partially had Bryn to thank for that.

So instead of bogging down the evening with heavier talk, I just looped my arm through hers and enjoyed the air as we walked back to the apartment. By the time we made it back there, I’d changed my mind—I couldn’t just leave things up in the air like this. She’d offered before to help me, as myfriend, so I’d be more comfortable when I ticked that off the list. Was that all this had been?

But the way she’d looked at me…The way she’d touched me—that didn’t feel likejust friends.

“Are we going to talk about it?” I said quietly as we walked inside.

“Talk about what?” she said calmly and I stared at her back as she brushed past me and into the living room.

“The fact that you had your fingers inside of me less than twenty minutes ago?”

She paused.

“What is there to say?”

I don’t know. A lot?I wanted to say but bit my tongue. “I see.” It had meant something to me, but not to her. Whateverthiswas, she didn’t want it to happen again. “Night, then.”

She didn’t stop me and I didn’t look back. It felt like something had changed, like a choice had been made, but I didn’t know if it had been me or her that had done the choosing—and whether or not it was the right decision, I had no idea.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Jamie letus borrow her car again for the drive down to see my parents and the vibe felt very different to when we’d gone down to the lake. Luckily, my parents weren’t too far away but they were still a good couple of hours in the car and I opted to fill the silence with music rather than talk. We weren’t ignoring what had happened, exactly, it was more that I didn’t think either of us were sure what to do with it.

Did I like Bryn? Sure. Was I in-like with Bryn? I thought so. But did she like me? Well, the other night definitely seemed promising until she’d dismissed it. Really I just wanted to focus on getting through this dinner and visit more than working out what Bryn and I were or weren’t.

“It’s this one on the left,” I said over the sound of Taylor Swift as we pulled onto my parent’s street.

Bryn parked up and we sat there for a second, her eyes on my face. “Are you ready for this?”

I lifted one shoulder. “Yeah, I guess. Thanks for coming with me.”

“Of course,” she said softly and we got out of the car. It felt very nostalgic, standing in front of their house—my house—as an outsider looking in. I genuinely hadn’t thought I would ever be here again. When they’d walked away from me before, it had hurt like hell, but I’d accepted it. I’d tried to move on. But now, here I was again, potentially opening myself back up just to get hurt again.

Bryn squeezed my hand in wordless support and I took a deep breath as I walked up the porch to knock on the door. My dad answered and I was relieved by that, I’d already seen him recently so I was prepared for it. But my mother…

He seemed to read the question on my face as he drew me into a hug that I didn’t quite return before he quickly let me go and, to my surprise, hugged Bryn too. “She’s in the kitchen, finishing up the food.”

I nodded and he took our bags upstairs. I hovered awkwardly in the hall for a second before shrugging off my coat and pulling my glasses out of my pocket. It was the smallest concession I was willing to make, considering I needed to wear them anyway. Bryn stared at me and I frowned.

“What?”

“You look so fucking hot right now,” she murmured and I blushed.

“Olivia?”

I turned and there she was. “Hi, Mom.”

My mother was a beautiful woman. She’d aged gracefully and everything about her, from her make-up to her clothes, screamedtasteful. This was not a woman who was used to anything less than perfection.

I tugged on my shirt sleeves and then gave her the best smile I could manage under the circumstances. “This is Bryn.”

Her green eyes flitted to Bryn behind me and she smiled. I supposed Bryn counted as a guest, so only the best southern hospitality would do. We hadn’t grown up in the south, and my mom had moved away when she was a teenager, but some of her own mother’s teachings around guests in the home still lingered today.

“Well? Aren’t you going to say hello?”

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