Second Dive (Kings of the Water #3) - Jasmin Miller Page 0,76
for it to look good?”
I stare at him as he lets it all out, because that’s Hunter. He’s not a quiet guy. Sometimes he drives us all crazy with his antics, but he’s a part of us and always will be.
“Anyway.” He faces me again. “So she’s okay? She looks like she’s having a blast.”
“Yeah.” We both look in the direction where Chloe is sitting in the grass with Izzy, blowing bubbles for her and being rewarded with delighted squeals. “Just a dizzy spell I guess. She ate something and said she was better.”
“That’s good.”
My gaze is still on Chloe. She’s so good with Izzy, and all the other kids too. Exactly how I always pictured she’d be as a mom.
“What’s going on with you two anyway?” Another thing Hunter doesn’t do: beat around the bush. Ever.
I let out a long breath. “I don’t know, man.”
“You can barely keep your eyes off her. I think you do know.”
“Smart-ass.” I punch him in the shoulder and we all chuckle. “And you can hardly blame me.”
“Never said that.”
I’m quiet after that, still watching Chloe with the kids, while the others chitchat around me.
I can’t get over how easy and right this feels. My friends never excluded me, but there have been many times lately when I’ve felt like the odd man. But not today.
“Did you have fun?” I click in my seat belt and look at Chloe, who’s overtaken by a yawn.
A soft chuckle raises the corners of her mouth. “I did. But those kids wore me out.”
“Yeah. Kids are no joke. Whenever Daisy works and I have the boys for the day, I’m exhausted by the time she picks them up. I don’t know how she does it. Being a single mom must be super tough.”
“She seems to be doing well though. Happy. I talked to her for a bit.” Chloe finally buckles in too, and I start the car.
“I saw.” I maneuver us out of Ryan and Harper’s neighborhood. “You were really good with the kids.”
She mumbles a quiet, “Thanks.”
Is it too early to talk about kids with her? I don’t know why but I have this sudden urge to go after everything I want with her. Maybe it’s because there’s this constant feeling in the back of my head that time’s running against us.
Or is she not feeling well? Now that she’s not at the party anymore, is she letting her mask drop fully like I saw inklings of earlier?
“You okay?” I look over to her when we’re at a red light.
“Yeah.” She clears her throat. “Just tired.”
But I can’t help notice the slumped posture, or the fact that she seems to be avoiding me by staring out the window. I don’t think she’s lying, she’s tired, but I have this gnawing feeling in my stomach that there’s something more happening.
When we get to our street, and I park in my driveway, she unbuckles and reaches for the door as soon as I shift the car into park. “I better head to bed. Thanks for taking me. That was fun. Have a good night.”
And then she jumps out of the car like something’s chasing her.
Does she really think I’d just let her go like that? What sort of lame goodbye was that?
“Chloe, wait.”
She turns around but keeps walking backward, already in her driveway. She shakes her head and waves her hands around in front of her. “I have to go, sorry.”
What the fuck is going on? And did her eyes look shiny?
I go after her in quick strides. I need to know what the hell is happening.
I need to make sure the knots in my stomach are from confusion, and the bad vibe they give off is wrong.
Because nothing bad can happen with Chloe.
Nothing bad can happen with us.
I don’t know if I could take that.
Not now when our future is only just starting.
Thirty-One
Chloe
What the hell was I thinking?
Meeting Noah’s friends was nerve-wracking enough. There’s never a meet-the-friends situation where your head isn’t spinning. Are you somehow lacking in his friends’ eyes? Do you measure up to who they think Noah deserves? Or do you get a big, fat thumbs-down?
Especially if they know how much hurt I caused him.
Gosh, I remember it like it was yesterday. Typing out that message, telling him we would be better off to live separate from each other . . . to pursue our dreams independent of each other. I could barely see the phone screen by the time I pressed send.