Page 70 of Unexpectedly Wanted
My time was up.
There wasn’t anything here that couldn’t wait a few hours.
So, I shut everything down and tossed the empty energy drink cans in the trash, telling myself that I’d go eat dinner at home. I’d try to be nice to my parents for one last night before they left. I’d enjoy Remy playing my boyfriend, even though the charade was pretty much over.
Then I’d drag him back here, and we’d dig in. I’d even let him call in whoever he thought might be useful to help out.
I put it aside for now, turning my focus to getting home.
I rushed out of the elevator, eyes on the front doors. This need to not be late propelled me forward at a fast pace. I didn’t want to disappoint Remy.
And maybe a part of me was excited to see him again.
To be in his space and feel more of the things I felt when I was around him.
Pulling out my phone, I realized I was actually smiling as I typed out a message to Remy.
Leaving now. I’ll be home soon.
I was about to send the message when a strange thought had me pausing.
Well, a few thoughts, actually.
One, I’d never had anyone to text an update about my life to before. No one waiting on me to wrap up my day.
I hadn’t ever felt lonely until this moment. All those times I went home to hang out with myself, I’d never been aware of how secluded I was. How much of a loser I was. Which didn’t really bother me. Except for the fact that I had been lonely. I just hadn’t realized it until I had someone to look forward to. Someone waiting for me. Someone caring about my day.
That led me to the second thing. How I’d said home like it was reallyourplace. It struck me as odd that I hadn’t hesitated when I’d typed that. Nor was I flinching at the thought now after the fact.
Then came the third realization. And this was a big one.
I liked Remy.
I really liked Remy.
I liked him so much that I had feelings for him. Deep ones. Ones that had developed when I wasn’t even looking. Ones that I didn’t even know I could have. I’d never felt like this before. Only I didn’t know what that meant. What was I supposed todowith those feelings?
And how did this happen?
Well, I hit rewind on my memories and tried to figure that out.
There had been very strong dislike. Okay, fine, hate. There had been blinding hate for the man.
Then he was my fake boyfriend, saving me from my crazy mother and her even crazier ideas.
Somehow, sex became tangled up in this disaster, and that had been wonderful.
But sex didn’t always lead to feelings. Or in my case, it never had before. Not that I had a ton of experiences to look back on.
Remy was so many things that I hadn’t expected. Most of that was on me, since I’d spent the last four years pushing him away every chance I got. He was kind— really, truly kind. While I’d seen it before, I’d never let him close enough to be touched by it. He was protective. Loyal. Sweet. Sometimes funny. He didn’t make fun of me, which I realized now. All his laughter had been because he thought I was amusing in a cute sort of way. Something I never once saw about myself, but I liked it. I liked making someone smile and laugh because I was simply being me. And not theat mekind of laugh.
I looked back down at the message I’d typed out.
My thumb hovered over the send button.
I was about to press it when someone bumped into me. My eyes were on my phone as it clattered to the ground. The screen was face down and I couldn’t see if it had accidentally gotten sent in the collision.
I looked up to tell the person I was sorry, sure that it was my fault since I’d been walking and texting. I knew better.
