Page 44 of Don't Leave
“Are you thinking about getting back together with him?”
Why else would she be having sex with him…tongue thing excluded, of course. There have to be other reasons she keeps hooking up with him.
At least I hope there are.
“No. I don’t want to fall for him any harder than I already have.” There’s a pause as she squeezes her eyes closed. “I just wish I could get him out of my system. I don’t understand why he’s so different from the others.”
Even back in high school, Brooklyn was a serial dater. Austin is the first guy to ever pry his way into her heart. Even if she doesn’t necessarily want him there.
“Maybe the reason you can’t get over Austin is because you actually have feelings for him. Have you considered giving him another chance to prove that he can be the guy you need him to be?”
She stares at me like I just told her to drown a bag of kittens. “But that’s the problem. I don’t want to feel anything for him. Relationships are so much easier when emotions aren’t involved.”
“Isn’t it a little late for that?” I shake my head. “How are you going to kill the feelings you already have for him?”
With a straight face she asks, “Why do you think I’m trying to fuck him out of my system?”
I roll my eyes. “How’s that been working for you?”
“Not well.” A thoughtful expression crosses her face. “Is it possible we aren’t having enough sex?”
“Let me get this straight,” I say drily, “your plan is to screw around with him in hopes that you canlessenyour feelings for him?”
Total.
Disaster.
And I certainly don’t want to be around when it backfires in her face.
Brooklyn snorts before throwing an arm over her eyes. “When you put it like that, it just sounds ridiculous.”
A burst of laughter escapes from me. “That’s because itisridiculous.”
“Then tell me what to do,” she groans, “because I don’t want to keep thinking about him. I can’t keep hooking up with him in hopes that it’ll finally be enough.”
Understanding dawns, albeit a little late. “That’s why he was here, wasn’t it?”
She lifts the arm from her face before rolling onto her side and blinking the harsh sunlight filtering in through the window out of her eyes. “Yup. Booty call. In the middle of a Wednesday afternoon. So sad.”
“Why were you two yelling at each other if it’s just sex?”
“You heard that, huh?”
“Just the voices, not the actual words.”
“Believe it or not, he’s tired of hooking up and gave me an ultimatum. We either make this legit and stop sneaking around or he’s moving on.” Brooklyn plows both hands through her hair as if she might yank the strands out of her head. “Riddle me this—if guys prefer no-strings arrangements, why is he pressuring me into a relationship? You’d think that what we’re doing would be an ideal situation.”
I’m not a relationship expert, but I think Austin has developed feelings for Brooklyn and he’s not afraid to do something about it.
“So…what you’re telling me is that you don’t want to go out with him, and he won’t continue hooking up with you.”
“Yup, that just about sums up our situation. Do you have any words of wisdom to impart upon me?”
Oh.
Hell.
No.
