Page 106 of Play Fake
“He bought out the place tonight.” I point to the empty sports bar around us.
“The whole place?”
“Yeah. If it makes you feel less guilty, I think it was as much an apology to Wren as it was to you for the uh… incident.”
“I don’t know her very well, but Holly seems like a determined woman.”
“That’s definitely one of her qualities, yes.”
“The others being she’s gorgeous and good in bed?” Mac smiles like she’s still playing, but the question makes me uneasy.
“I wouldn’t know.” I answer bluntly because I wouldn’t. Holly and I had made out a few times, and flirted with the idea of hooking up, but it had never happened.
“You wouldn’t?”
“I told you that first night, I’m not as much of a fuckboy as you think I am.”
She looks up at me and then back down at the napkin in front of her, her fingers playing with the edge.
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to keep things lighthearted.”
“I think that might be where we’re fucking up.”
“What?” Her eyes lift to meet mine.
“We’re both always trying to keep things light, instead of actually talking through it.”
“I just didn’t want to complicate things for you. I know I don’t fit in your world and—“
“And I fit in yours?”
“You do.”
“I literally don’t fit in some of the furniture in your house for starters.”
She laughs, “Well, that’s true. I was so worried you were going to break the little vintage sofa.”
We both laugh for a second and then it gets awkwardly quiet again.
“You fit in my world, Mac. Anywhere you don’t or don’t feel like you fit, I’ll make room.”
She smiles in a way that lights up her gorgeous green eyes, but then it fades again, her eyes flitting from the table to the wall behind me and back.
“I really appreciate that, but if we’re being honest, Waylon. I can’t do things like we have been. I wish I could. It’s been fun, and I… really like being with you.”
“But?” My heart feels like it seized up in my chest.
“I need more.”
I’m ready to tell her I’ll give her more. Anything she wants, but Wren picks that moment to walk out with our food. A Cajun pasta dish that’s one of her family recipes they only serve here at the bar. She sets them down in front of us.
“Enjoy you two. Let me know what else you need. I’m gonna make myself scarce in the back, but text me when you’re ready for more drinks, dessert, whatever.”
“Thanks, Wren.”
Mac’s eyes follow her back to the back, and when the door shuts, she turns back to me.
“This was really sweet of you, Waylon. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble. It’s as much my fault as anything. I never should have believed what she told me, but I just thought… I didn’t think. I’m sorry about that. I should have given you a chance to explain right away.”
