Page 44 of The Nice Guy
Her head rests on my shoulder, and I know right then that I’m in love. Hell, I’ve been in love since I met her, but there’s no doubt about it now. And it takes everything in me to push down the panic.
Even with Honor, I never quite fell completely in love with her. If I don’t fall in love, it doesn’t hurt as much. But this will hurt. It’ll damn near kill me when it ends.
“What’s wrong?” Brynlee asks, her eyes looking up into mine. “Your heart’s racing.”
“It’s just bein’ this close to you,” I lie.
The eyebrow raise makes it clear she doesn’t believe me, but she doesn’t push. We fall into a comfortable silence as we sway, our bodies in perfect harmony until the song ends.
“Pizza’s here,” I say as Heidi sets it on our table.
“Oh, thank God,” she mutters and almost runs to the table while still holding my hand.
We’re let into the booth, and she doesn’t hesitate to grab a slice, setting it on her plate, and cutting it with a fork. All three of us watch in awe. Who eats pizza with a fork?
“What?” she asks, shoving a forkful into her mouth. “It’s too hot to eat with my hands yet.”
“So, let it cool,” Carter says with a chuckle.
“You don’t understand how hungry I am.” She cuts another piece and shoves it into her mouth. “I’m on the verge of throwing a tantrum like a toddler.”
Leaning back, Darla nods her head. “I’m goin’ to use that excuse now. I like that.”
“I’m serious,” she says, grabbing the slice and biting into it now. “The term hangry has nothing on me when I don’t get fed.”
“Food basically runs your life, then?” Carter asks.
She shrugs and nods. “Yeah, I suppose you can say that. The only time I don’t eat regularly is if I’m upset. Otherwise, I need three meals a day and at least two snacks.”
“I find it sexy watchin’ my girlfriend eat like that,” I say, realizing what I just said and who it was in front of.
If it bothers Brynlee, she doesn’t let it show, and Darla and Carter gape at me. Darla’s the first to speak with her patented, “Shut up!”
Hopefully, this wasn’t something Brynlee wanted to keep to ourselves. “You asked her to be your girlfriend?” Carter asks, an impressed smirk on his face.
“Sort of,” Brynlee says. “It kind of just happened. We can sort of thank Honor for it.”
The way she shovels the food into her mouth has me looking over my shoulder at Jake until he catches my eyes, and I nod my head towards Brynlee.
See, asshole? You were wrong!
“Honor?” Darla’s voice brings me back to the conversation.
“Yeah, I ran into her this morning, and I’m pretty sure she hates me. Well, more than she did at your birthday shindig, Carter.”
“She talked some shit about me, which didn’t sit well with Brynlee.”
Carter waves a hand in the air. “How did this end up with you two bein’ together? Officially?”
“She called her my girlfriend, and she clarified we hadn’t put labels on things. We hadn’t talked about it since we had only one date, but then it just kind of happened when I went to check on her. We decided to put a label on it,” I say and eat my first slice while Brynlee grabs a second.
“Woah, that’s the first time Honor’s ever done anythin’ decent. Even if it was accidental,” Darla says and laughs.
“And we’re all feelin’ good about this decision?” Carter asks, looking between Brynlee and me.
I know he’s trying to reinforce things for me, but Brynlee sighs and puts her hand on her stomach. “I think I ate too fast.”
“Are you okay?” I ask, suddenly concerned. And a little anxious that she hasn’t answered Carter’s question.
