Page 27 of Caught Stealing Your Heart
“Brandon wants us to meet up soon,” she revealed, and I felt my blood pressure rise. I had to take long, deep breaths to control the rapid beat of my heart.
“For what?”
“I’m not sure, Willow. I haven’t seen him since we last met up, and we both know how that ended. I’m not trying to go there with him again, but I am curious as to why he wants to meet.”
“Well, are you going to go? And if so, are you going to be able to keep your legs closed?”
The two of them laughed, further irritating me, so I made my presence known. I wasn’t trying to hear any more, or I probably would’ve said something.
“Oh, hey, Banks. How are you?” Willow greeted with a wave.
“I’m good. How are you?”
“Good, just checking up on my cousin since you’ve been occupying all her time. I’m beginning to wonder if there is even a contract.”
I thumbed my nose and side-eyed Leilani. “It is. We gotta make everything appear real, right?”
The middle of Leilani’s face came together in a scowl. She pursed her lips together and slowly bobbed her head. “Yeah, we do.”
“Well, I’m about to head out. I should be back by Thursday, so I’ll get up with you then.”
Without waiting for Leilani to speak, I walked toward the door. She jogged up behind me and grabbed me by the wrist. “Are you okay, Banks?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Why you ask?”
“You just seem… distant suddenly. You were going to leave without giving me a hug or kiss?”
“My bad.”
We shared a kiss and hug. Leilani promised to call me when Willow left. I wasn’t sure that I would answer. Distance was probably the best thing for us, so it was good I was leaving tomorrow. I’d been playing things with Leilani too close when I didn’t need to. We could fulfill our contract, but the personalterms, we unintentionally needed to change before things got too deep.
Something was off with Banks.
I could feel it even when he was away. He wasn’t his usual loving and attentive self. His texts were short. Our conversations seemed to be even shorter, and we hadn’t spent much time together since he’d been back in Camden Cove for the last five days.
The distance was wearing on me, revealing the feelings I tried to deny.
Distance revealed how I loved hearing his voice. I could sit and listen to him talk for hours, laughing at the smallest things because he was a big kid at heart.
Distance revealed how I loved seeing him. Banks was one of a kind. I could sit and stare at him all day, which was one reason I was in my room, drawing him.
Distance revealed how I craved intimacy.Hisintimacy. I’d never been big on physical touch, but Banks had me yearning for his hugs and kisses.
Banks had me yearning for him, mentally, physically, and emotionally. I hadn’t experienced those types of emotions since Brandon. With Banks, everything was deeper. I wasn’t sure if it was because we’d connected too quickly or what, but I’d fallen for that man. I’d fallen for him hard and fast, with no warning.
Our bond was unexpected. I went into our business relationship as he liked to call it, only thinking of how we were helping each other. I went into it not realizing that we’d be feeding one another’s souls, healing parts of each other we didn’t realize were damaged.
“Disconnect” by 6lack played in the background, sending a message to my soul. I picked my phone up to see if Banks had texted me back, only to find he’d left me on read. Not wanting to get too deep into my feelings, I went to my text thread with Brandon to confirm our meeting details. We’d been texting a little more lately, so maybe he was the distraction I needed from my feelings.
It was three o’clock, so I got to a good stopping point on my drawing before going to get ready for Banks’s game. A part of me didn’t want to go with the way he was acting, but maybe things would change with the cameras being around us. I didn’t want the cameras to be the reason he changed his attitude. I wanted Banks to be Banks.
To my surprise, Banks had a Tahoe waiting to take me to the game. The small gesture made me feel slightly better. It let me know he was still thinking about me. My heart melted at thesight of a single sunflower resting on the seat. Even with him being distant, it didn’t change how thoughtful he was.
Traffic was terrible through the city. I arrived at the game with only ten minutes to spare, so I didn’t get to talk to Banks beforehand. His parents and Paisley were there. I sat with them, and we all noticed Banks was off. So off that the coach pulled him from pitching.
My heart went out to him. From the way his shoulders were slumped and his head lowered, it was obvious he wasn’t feeling it. His focus was off, even when he went up to bat. If he didn’t get walked, he definitely would’ve struck out. The game ended, and the Cougars lost by four.
“I don’t know what was wrong with Banks today,” Alyson stated with a shake of her head. “He hasn’t had an off game like that in a while.”
