Hardwood - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,81
truth to the guys here and now, or…
I open and close my mouth like a fish out of water, and a strong hand lands on my shoulder.
“Sorry, cutie, you’re barking up the wrong tree,” Cole says, gripping my shoulder and giving Watson a sympathetic smile while I try to form words around my sandpaper tongue.
Watson’s eyes go wide as he seems to notice my friends around me for the first time. To his credit, his playful smile stays firmly in place, even as an array of emotions from surprised to embarrassed to apologetic race through his eyes.
He doesn’t say anything for several heartbeats. Is he hoping I’ll contradict Cole? Should I? It’s not too late, if I just open my mouth and fucking say something already.
“Damn, too bad,” Watson says lightly. “Drink’s on me anyway.” He gestures to Van behind the bar who gives him a smile and a salute.
He struts away, and I can’t tear my eyes off of him. He goes right past the table where Mia and Jordy are waiting for him, shooting me curious looks as Watson passes, and heads down the hallway in the back corner.
“I have to take a piss,” I say, pushing my drink aside and hopping off the stool.
Watson
I’m leaning against the wall in the hallway near the bathroom when Ev comes around the corner like a man on a mission.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers frantically as he nears me. “I panicked, I’m so sorry.”
My stomach is still twisted in knots, that rejected feeling still wrapped around me like a cloak I can’t seem to shake. I force a smile and reach out to pat his arm.
“It’s fine,” I lie. It’s not fine, but what’s the alternative? Make him feel bad for not being ready to come out? I’m not going to be that guy, even if it hurts. “It’s my fault; I didn’t see your friends right away. I thought you were alone.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, tugging on the rim of his cap and furrowing his eyebrows.
“Yeah.” I bite my bottom lip and keep my arms crossed to keep from reaching for him. “What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you guys normally go to Wooley’s?”
“I guess one of Ollie’s exs got a job there or something? I don’t really know. All I know is I feel like a complete dick right now.”
“Ev, seriously, it’s fine.” I keep my voice tight, trying not to snap at him. How many times do I have to tell him it’s okay before he drops it?
My tone doesn’t seem to fool him. Worry clouds his eyes, and he glances over his shoulder before reaching for me. “Let’s get out of here. I’ll text the guys after we leave and tell them I was feeling sick and called an Uber.”
Competing emotions war inside me—the desire to go home with him and pretend like everything is fine versus the urge to push him back and tell him I can’t do this anymore. My throat feels tight as I take a deep breath and nod.
“Let’s go,” I agree.
His worry morphs into a relieved smile. “Come on, we can slip out through the alley and go around the building.”
Secret escape routes are the sign of a relationship that can make it, right?
We make it outside and to my car without being spotted, and we both send our friends texts before driving away. I drop Ev off at his office building to grab his own car and then follow him back to his place.
The entire drive there, I replay the two months over and over in my mind, every incredible moment, and every little chip at my heart. No one’s perfect, and Ev doesn’t have to be. But, fuck it’s getting hard to feel like his entire life is happening on one side of a brick wall, and I’m stuck on the other.
As soon as we’re inside, Ev is on me, kissing me like a starving man, his hands and mouth everywhere all at once. I knock his hat off and run my hands through his hair, kissing him back just as wildly, desperately trying to convince myself that this is going to work, that I don’t have to give him up just yet.
We shed our clothes in his bedroom and tumble into bed, groping and kissing, miles of skin connected at every point, our breathing ragged.
“I’m so crazy about you, Ev,” I confess.
He rolls on top of me and runs his hands all over my body worshipfully as