Page 38 of Unrivaled Love
“What are you gonna do, Jo?” I taunt because while we’re the same height I’ve got some muscle on her and I’m used to slamming men a lot bigger than me into boards to dig out the puck.
My knees do feel a little compromised by her proximity though. Her eyes haven’t changed. They’re still green with an amber rim that reminds me of the sun over the trees. Although I’m not getting a quiet morning, birds chirping, vibe from her right now. It’s more like the sun has scorched the earth and your efforts to save the vegetation are futile.
Her breath hits my face as she exhales like a bull ready to buck its cowboy. Maybe taking her food was too far.
“Okay, okay, easy Killer.” I tell her as I take a step back and break the tension coiling between us. “Hold on.”
I walk over to the cabinet along the back wall under the TV and slide the cooler out. It took longer than I thought it would to get the cooler to fit in here nicely. She follows me slowly and stands with her hands on her hips as I open the lid.
“What can I getchu?” I ask, pretending she isn’t ready to rip my head off.
“Move.” She grumbles and she kneels down to dig through for her food. She pulls out a yogurt and the bag of hard boiled eggs. She stands and carries them back to the kitchen where she steps through the yarn to get a plate, spoon, and dump some almonds from a bag she found in the cabinet onto the plate with the egg.
It’s a high protein meal with good fats. I know she trains hard and if this is how she’s been eating, I understand the muscle she’s built.
Now that she’s across the room I’m able to process what it felt like to have her so close to me. She’s like a heat source and I want the warmth back.
Even if it’s more like a flaming trail of gunpowder than a weighted blanket.
She didn’t always hate me though. When we were kids we were friends. Inseparable even. In this very house, we’d snuggle on the giant sofa in the basement watching movies with our siblings. And then one time I got the chance to do more than cuddle with her. It was the best night of my life and even as I lived it, I knew it would change the trajectory of my life forever.
And it did, but not in the way I’d dreamed.
I’ve just been standing over here watching her, lost in my daydreams. She finishes eating and after she cleans up she plants her hands on the counter and lifts her head to look at me.
“Why are you here, Bryson?” Her question warps me back to the present.
“It’s my families’ house too.” I reply. We’re in the middle of a prank war, I can’t open myself up and tell her I’m here because I feel lost, unmotivated, and don’t know what to do with my life.
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Why are you here, Jo?”
“I asked you first.”
“I asked you second.”
“Jesus,” she grumbles. “You’re impossible.”
And with that she pivots, bobs and weaves through the yarn, and heads down to the basement.
I shrug and take my book out to the patio. I might not understand Jo and her reason for being here but I can sit back and enjoy characters battling for their lives and falling in love.
I am literally on the edge of my seat four pages later because the main character, Flora, had to falsely admit to murdering her lover, who disappeared in an earlier chapter, in order to save herself from this warlord, Sigrun, with a sword to her throat. She didn’t realize he was out to murder her too because just a few chapters ago he sat back while she rode his dick and I honestly thought they would be getting together.
Him taking her captive is a total surprise and right now she’s trying to figure out if she can distract him enough to get some room from his blade.
Riiiiiiiing!
“Fuck!” I yell as I toss my book in the air. It claps shut as it hits the ground and my phone lets out a siren again. “Jesus, what is it?” I ask as I answer Crosby’s call.
“Sorry man.” He sounds quiet. “I ugh, I tried to call Dunc but he didn’t answer.”
“No problem, what’s going on?” I clutch the phone between my shoulder and ear as I slide my bookmark into place. I step inside to toss it on the counter and then head back out to talk to Crosby.
“It just hit out of nowhere today.”
“Are you in a safe spot?”
