Page 27 of Letters From a Broken Heart
“I feel like that’s the normal for us now.” He smiles sadly. “I promise it will get better.”
“I know it will. Let’s go inside. Maybe we should just stay here tonight. I want to steal one of your t-shirts to sleep in.” I grin as I hop out of the car and race up the steps to the front door.
Easton chuckles as he slings his suit jacket over his shoulder and follows me. The way the sun is filtering through the trees, he looks like a model. Like he was born to grace the covers of magazines.
“Freeze!” I yell as I scramble to get my phone so I can snap a few photos.
He listens, but there’s a furrow in his brow. He doesn’t know what I'm doing, but he doesn’t question me.
“Work it, baby! Show this camera what you can do!” I laugh as I snap one photo after another, feeling like the real me for the first time in months.
Easton shakes his head and his frown melts away as a smile takes over. He shakes his head, but he isn't annoyed with me, he’sentertained. He glances up at the sky, showing off his long neck and angular jaw. When he drops his chin, he stares down at the ground for a few seconds before lifting his gaze enough to meet my eyes. He’s nibbling on his bottom lip and I swear it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
After I’ve taken at least five dozen photos, I wave for him to come closer. I know he was only appeasing me and he hates getting his picture taken.
I scroll through the images as he unlocks the door and we step inside. I'm too distracted to really pay attention to the world around me.
I find my favorite picture of him and quickly change the background of my phone to it. I picked the one of his teeth sinking into his bottom lip and him glancing up at me through his lashes. He looks so sexy and perfect. So much like the man I’ve always been in love with.
It feels like a massive step forward to change my background photo. No longer do I need to stare at an image of Jack and myself every time I open my phone. I'm putting the past in the past and moving on.
Jack will always be part of my life and I'm not trying to forget or replace him, but I can't stay stuck, I need to move forward… I just don’t know if it’s possible to move forward with Easton.
Tucking my phone in my pocket, I glance around and realize Easton isn't in the room. I was too focused on my phone to realize he left.
“East? Where are you?” I call as my eyes roam the living room.
I’ve been here more times than I can count and always acted like I lived here too. I know where everything is kept and even have some clothes in the spare closet in the hallway. Easton never cared if I was around, even when Jack wasn’t. He was happy to curl up on the couch with me and let me pick what we watched on the TV.
My brows furrow again as I think about Easton’s actions over the past few years. He could’ve gotten mad at me for dating Jack, but he didn’t. He never changed how he treated me and I love that.
“In my room,” his deep voice echoes through the house.
Without a second thought, I follow the long hallway, passing Jack’s room and the bathroom. I don’t glance in his room. I don’t want memories to assault me right now. I just want to be with Easton and I'm not going to think about how screwed up that is.
I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out when I step into his room and find him standing in nothing except a pair of fitted boxer briefs.
“Holy crap. This would make a much better background photo than the one of you outside,” I murmur to myself.
Easton spins around to face me with his eyebrows raised high. There’s a mix of shock and amusement on his face and I don’t know how to react. Did I seriously just blurt that out?
I’ve seen Easton shirtless countless times over our lifetime. We’ve gone swimming, worked out together, and sat in the hot tub. But this is different. Before, I thought my feelings weren’t reciprocated. I was dating Jack. There were so many things keeping us apart. But now…
“Go ahead.” He rolls his eyes and stretches his arms out wide.
My brain barely processes what he just said. I'm too busy letting my eyes scan over every inch of his body. When I'm done, I do it over and over again.
His broad shoulders and chest tapper down into a trim waist. Every piece of his body is covered in taut muscles. They’re not too bulky, but they’re defined, showing off just how hard he works out and cares about his body.
His body is perfection, but what I love even more about right now is how messy his hair is. How much he doesn’t look like the Easton I grew up with.
No, that isn't true. He looks like my Easton. The one I hung out with in the garage. The man who was covered in grease and oil, but he didn’t care. His hair was always a wild mess when he was in the garage. That’s when he was my Easton. The version of him… not many people have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The one I fell in love with.
“Are you just going to stare at me, or are you going to take a picture?” His voice is deeper than it was a few seconds ago. I blinkat him, trying to figure out why my mouth doesn’t want to form any of the words flying through my head.
“I'm not sure I could figure out how to get my phone to work right now,” I murmur, taking a step closer to him.
“Oh yeah?” He asks as a sexy, lopsided smirk spreads across his lips. I swear I’ve only seen him smirk like this at me, never anyone else.
