Page 71 of One Little Lie
She holds up a hand to stop me. “Do you love me?”
I can’t hear her over the music, but her words are written plain as day on her swollen lips.
“I always will,” I finally admit. “But it isn’t enough, and it isn’t right.”
Standing on her tiptoes, she pulls me in closer so I can hear her.
“Love is a choice you make, Hatty, and you chose wrong.” Using both hands, she shoves me back with tears flowing down her face.
People around us have noticed and separate to give her room to escape.
I watch in shock as she forces her way toward the exit. I blink away the surprise, then follow in her wake. She may hate me, but I have to make sure she gets home safely. I’ll sleep in the car and send her home tomorrow.
Hanging my head in shame, I exit the bar. The tightness in my chest is overwhelming as panic crashes in, taking center stage once again. Glancing around, I see Rylan up ahead, so I follow from a distance. We’re halfway home when she makes a detour toward the water. My racing heart and sweaty palms remind me that my chaos has no cure without her in my life. It causes a sad awareness I’ve never known.
When she rips her shirt over her head without a care in the world, I stumble.
What the hell is she going to do?
Her skirt comes off next, and she tosses it carelessly to the ground. My head is on a swivel, making sure no one is witness to her striptease.
“Rylan. What the hell are you doing?” I growl as a new wave of possession washes over me.
Reaching behind her, she unclasps her bra and drops it by her feet as she moves toward the water. I’m following behind her now, collecting her clothes.
“Rylan,” I bark again. “What the fuck?”
Her panties are the last to fall, and when she glances over her shoulder at me, a small smile appears on her face.
Maybe she’s lost her damn mind?
“I’m skinny-dipping, Hatty.” Her voice is so melancholy, I shiver. The only other sounds are my breathing and the ocean lapping at the shore.
“You can’t fucking swim, Rylan.”
She turns to face me, and I blackout for a moment at the sight of her naked in the moonlight. She’s so goddamn beautiful I can’t breathe.
Raising an eyebrow, she shrugs one delicate shoulder and walks straight out into the surf.
Motherfucker.What the hell do I do now?It’s not like I have a choice. I won’t let her drown out here.
“Why are you playing games with me?” It comes out strangled. I’m trying to yell so she can hear me, but stay quiet enough I don’t attract any unwanted attention.
“No games, Hatty. Not anymore,” she calls over her shoulder, but she never slows her pace. The water is at her thighs now, and she’s still moving forward.
Dropping her shit into a pile, I do the only thing I can. I strip and follow her into the water. It’s so fucking cold I feel my balls shrivel up and die, anyway.
Screw it. Diving headfirst, I swim to catch up with her. When I finally surface, I’ve blocked her from going any deeper. The water hits just above her nipples, and I can’t help but stare as her perfect tits float in the moonlight.
“What’s going on here, Rylan? You’re scaring me.”
She cocks her head to the side as she stares at me. Too many emotions to count flicker in her shimmering eyes.
“I’m stripping us down. I want nothing between us. Just you and me. Honesty.”
“For what?” I ask, but I’m already shaking my head no.
“You love me, yet you say it isn’t enough. You’re willing to let me live with a broken heart because you don’t think you can have me. I deserve to know why. Why would you hurt me like this over and over again, Hatty? What could mean so much to you that you’d give up on us like this?”
