Page 48 of Timber's Line
“Tobias, this is Timber,” Carlton introduces the next suitor, who just smiles at me. Quiet and nice. I’ve heard of him but have never met him.
“Number eight is Garrett.”
“Hi.” I shake his hand. He doesn’t say anything, just moves to the side. Alrighty then. Maybe he’s not a talker. Or he’s saving it for the date.
“Number nine is Kash.”
Kash steps closer and kisses my cheek. “I’m just here to make sure someone doesn’t do anything stupid.” He gestures behind him, and my eyes go wide. Dayton?
“Timber, this is Dayton.” What is he doing? He kisses my knuckles as he stares at me with his amber eyes. I could get lost in them.
“Cut.”
“What are you doing?”
“Mine,” is all he says. Maybe we’re both in shock because he made a rash decision.
“Fellas, grab some food, chat with Timber or the others. Ethan and Timber have a date tonight,” Sal calls. I tense and I know Dayton sees it.
“Timber?” He is looking at me with genuine concern.
“You don’t want me. I’m damaged goods,” I say and scurry away from him.
I wish I could run away right now. I see Ethan, Luis, and Oscar talking. Do they know each other? Fuck, I was such a slut.
Why couldn’t I have more self-esteem, like Skye, Ever, or Ariel? My life is going to bite me in the ass, and then my parents will really have something to fight about—me. My mom will tell my dad that she was right about me, and he will try to stick up for me. I’m such a horrible daughter.
“You look like you’re having a war inside your head,” someone says from behind me. Easton.
“I am.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“You’re a man. You wouldn’t understand,” I mumble, falling into the couch, not feeling very festive.
He sits down beside me and hands me his phone.
“Who is this?”
“That’s me.” He chuckles. The guy on the phone is a mere boy with acne everywhere and a big belly.
“This is you?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t the suave, debonair man you see today,” he snorts.
“What happened?”
“I made a change. Girls wouldn’t look my way. They laughed. And I get that it’s hard for a girl to lose weight. But you’re not fat, just curvy, and men like that.”
“They do? I could have been fooled.”
“I think I know what happened. Those three,” he points at the three amigos, “talked you into doing something you really didn’t want to do but did it because they made you feel special.”
I hang my head in shame.
“There’s nothing wrong with what you did, only they are wrong.”
“But they didn’t love me.”
