Page 116 of Light in the Dark
Layla sighs. "Oh, Rain, you poor thing. You gotta get over that. Riley is a horndog. Yes, he's hot as sin, but he'll only break your heart. Ask me how I know."
"How do you know, Layla?" Raina asks.
"Because I hooked up with him once, a long, long time ago, and he moved on faster than I could get my clothes back on." She rolls her eyes. "He's a good time and that's it."
I frown. "I don't know if that's true anymore, actually. He came over to drink beer and watch football with Fee last week. I was in my room doing homework, and…well, Riley's voice carries."
"And?" Raina demands when I don’t continue.
"And I heard him saying that he's losing his touch because he's not hooking up like he used to. I think he might be starting to think about settling down." I shrug. "I dunno. Just what I heard."
Layla waves her hand. “Don’t say that too loudly, Ember. You'll have half of Three Rivers chasing Riley Crowe down Main Street throwing their panties at him."
Raina doesn't say anything, but her gaze is speculative.
Noelle taps my knee. "You're not escaping the question that easily, Ember."
"I'm not avoiding." I sigh. "Fine, I'm avoiding. Connie made it seem like I'm taking advantage of Felix by living with him and letting him do everything he's been doing but not…being with him."
"Doyouthink so?" Raina asks.
I shake my head, pause, and shrug. "I don't know. I didn't until she said something. And now…yeah, I do. I mean, we talked about this, Felix and I, the day I left the hospital. I told him I needed time to sort my life out."
Layla touches my hand. "Honey, of course you'd need time. You went through hell. Your husband dying, and then dear old sweet crazy Faye, and then the accident?"
"I think it's getting to be really hard for him though," I say. "We talked a little on the way here, and I think he's hurting. It's taking a toll on him, and…I'm worried I'm gonna lose him."
Lainey shakes her head. "He wouldn't do all that and then be like, nah, forget it, too much trouble."
"He said that he was just doing what he'd do for any of his friends, like Cole, Nyx, or Riley." I sip my iced tea, grimacing when I discover it's just watery, vaguely tea-flavored ice-melt.
"Well, what you have to understand," Layla says, "is that those four are not just friends. It's more like family. They've been best bros since pre-K. All three of them visited Riley in prison every week, together. So putting you in the circle with his boys?" She shakes her head. "That's a big statement from him."
"You know him pretty well, huh?" I ask.
She shrugs. "It's a small town, babe. We all know each other. I was a year above them in high school and had a lot of the same classes with Felix. We were never friends, exactly, but I know him well."
"But what do I do? I needed the time. I'm still kind of a mess about Dutchie, but I'm doing a lot better. I don't fall apart as much when I talk about him. I just…it feels like there's a gap between us, now. I just…" I sniffle, groaning. "I don't want to jump into bed with him just because. There are real feelings between us. He…" I hesitate. "When I was upside down in that SUV, I texted him. And he wrote that he loves me. I don’t know if he even realizes it. And he almost said it when he dropped me off. But I want…I want it to be real. Not just hot sex."
Lainey grins at me. "But the sexishot as fuck, right? It has to be."
Layla shoves at her sister. "Lane! God, get a grip."
Lainey sticks her tongue out. "Oh fuck off. I haven’t gotten laid in months."
"Dan Hibbard last week doesn't count?"
“No, because he went down on me, which was great, but then he had whiskey dick and passed out. So no, I didn't actually sleep with him. Sadly."
"No take two for poor Dan?" Noelle asks.
Lainey shakes her head. "Nah. I can deal with you getting whiskey dick once in a while if I’m, like,reallyinto you, but if it's a hookup and you give yourself whiskey dick? Sorry, no. That's the ick, and there's no getting past it."
Noelle takes my hand, clasping it in both of hers. "None of us are here to tell you what to do, honey. No one can. Only you know what's in your heart. If you have real feelings for him and you're worried you're gonna lose him, then what are you waiting for? And I don't mean just sex. But, for what it's worth, sex may be the best way forward—ifyou're sure your feelings for him are more than just physical attraction."
A bell rings somewhere inside, and Lainey pops to her feet—a little too quickly, perhaps. "I got it."
Layla rolls her eyes as she watches her sister head inside to take care of the customer. "Lainey is allergic to feelings. Any discussion of true love makes her run for the hills."
