Page 48 of One Last Time?
Guys like Brody were what awaited me after Dylan.
Why? Because that was who I picked.
From one to the next, they were the same, and I didn’t realize until it was too late.
I never realized until it was too late and I was in too deep.
And… as I looked at Dylan, what he’d said hit me too.
He’d said he was my boyfriend and called me his girl.
Was I?
How could I want that more than anything right now and not have it?
“Thank you,” I breathed when he looked to me.
“Come on, I’ll get you some water.” He took my hand and led me back inside to the sitting room, where he sat me down. “Taylor, that guy was a complete asshole. Don’t let him get to you.”
He must have thought I was more upset from the shock of seeing Brody and from what he’d said to me. I wasn’t.
“You called me your girl,” I said, speaking mindlessly.
He stared back, open-mouthed, like he hadn’t realized what he’d said until then.
He blinked, and those ice-blue eyes seemed brighter to me.
“Yeah, I guess…” He paused and brought his hand to his chin. “I guess that doesn’t sound like no-strings-attached exclusive. Does it?”
“Not so much.” I shouldn’t do this to myself because I knew what he was going to say.
I wasn’t the one with the father who might not be okay with him seeing me because I was a client. It wasn’t my career that was dependent on anything. I had what I had, and I understood we were just supposed to be fooling around. That was what no strings meant.
“It’s okay,” I told him, and he straightened. “It was just nice. Nice to be called yours. I could be yours for the next ten days.” My voice shook as I spoke.
“Ten days… God, is that all that’s left?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He shook his head. “What if I want to see you after that? What if… I want you to keep being mine?”
I stared at him, not quite able to process what he was saying.
He smirked. “Please, Taylor, for fuck’s sake, don’t tell me something like my place will be taken. That I’ll be replaced. Whatever. Just say no, but don’t say any of that stuff.”
A tear ran down my cheek. “You can’t be replaced, and no one’s ever had your place.”
His eyes held a sheen of purpose that brightened before me like a light. “Really?”
“Yes. So, if you wanted to keep seeing me, that would be perfect, and if you still wanted me to be yours, I would be.”
He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me flush against his chest.
“I do,” he whispered against my hair, his breath like a gentle caress on my skin.
I do…
Yes, me too. Always me too.
