Page 61 of Fall Hard

“You were right,” I said to her once I got my breath back. “That was long overdue.”

She laughed, just as breathless as me, and I crawled to the top of the bed to lay next to her. “How much of that do you think Jamie heard?”

I snorted. “I really, truly, don't care.”

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Jamie kept smirkingat me over breakfast until I finally sighed and said, “What?”

“Just friends, huh?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, at the time that was true.” Bryn and I had spent the remainder of the night curled up watchingThe Vampire Diariesas Ky slept between us. I still needed to talk to her and make sure that we were on the same page—I didn’t just want to sleep with her, I wanted her to be mine.

“Is this all part of your little project too? Friends who fuck?”

“Shut up,” I muttered as I sipped my OJ and then nearly choked when I saw Bryn standing in the doorway, watching us. “Hi. Morning. Hey.” It hadn’t been awkward yesterday after we’d had sex, so why did I feel so unsure now?

Jamie raised her eyebrows at me and I opted to ignore her. Yes, I had no cool.

“Sorry, don’t let me interrupt.” Was I imagining the coldness in Bryn’s voice? I looked quickly to Jamie but she raised her shoulders as if to say she was staying out of it.

“You’re not interrupting. Do you want some breakfast?”

“No, I’m actually going to head to my new place.”

“Oh.” What the hell was going on? “Right now? Do you want me to come with you?”

“That’s kind of outside the parameters offriends who fuck, I think,” she said as she turned away.

Crap. “Bryn, that’s not—”

The door slammed and I stared at the empty spot she’d occupied just a second ago.

Jamie slapped my arm. “Aren’t you going after her?”

I stumbled up and grabbed the first pair of shoes I found, shoving them on as I ran out of the door and then promptly kicking them off when I realized they were platform heels and were hindering more than helping.

“Bryn!” I called out and got no response. Damn. How fastwasshe?

I hurried down the steps and out of the building, probably looking deranged with half a shoe on, bedhead, and my wrinkled PJs completing the look as I yelled for her.

How was she already on the path through the park? She was still in her PJs too, but somehow managed to pull it off as if it were a new trend us mere mortals hadn’t yet thought of.

“Bryn!”

She didn’t turn and I swore as a pebble cut into my foot. I veered onto the grass and half-tackled her to get her to stay put.

“Stop! I don’t know what you think you heard—”

“Were you just using me last night to make her jealous?”

“What? No. Of course not!”

“Then is this about the list? You–what, got caught up in everything with me? Or felt like you owed me something?”

“Bryn—”

“I already told you once.” Her blue eyes were glossy with tears as she stared at me. “I don’t want to be someone’s second choice. I amnota consolation prize. And if you think—”

---