Roni Loren - Crash Into You

Reid was sitting forward on the couch, forearms on knees, and his mouth in a grim line. His black tailored shirt and expensive jeans looked out of place against the faded flower pattern of their secondhand furniture. He looked up when she sank into the love seat. “Got her in bed okay?”

Brynn kicked off her heels and tucked her legs beneath her. “Yeah, she’s already out. Thanks for helping me get her to her room. I’m beyond embarrassed that you saw all of this.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. It’s fine.”

She scoffed, the sound holding no humor. “Fine? Yeah, I’m sure this is exactly how you spend your evenings—cleaning up an alcoholic after one of her dates decides she didn’t do enough to earn her money.”

Deep frown lines etched his face. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Why did you tell her you were my boyfriend?”

He shrugged. “It just came out. I guess it’s because I’d like to be.”

Brynn groaned. “You must be a masochist. Look around, Reid. This is my life. I’m not like the other girls at the office. I have a lot going on and hopefully am leaving for college in a few months.”

His brows dipped. “Leaving?”

“I told you that on our first date.”

“I know, but how are you going to do that with all that’s going on here?”

She shrugged. “That’s why I’m busting my ass with overtime at work. I’m going to get an apartment and take Kelsey with me—file for guardianship.”

He blew out a breath. “Wow.”

“Yeah, see what I mean? You need to go find some chick like Molly or Krista who can go and do all the fun things people our age are supposed to be doing. I’m not that girl.”

“Oh, right, ’cause those airheads at the office are awesome.”

“No, I’m serious. I mean, look, one evening with me and I bet I’ve completely messed up your plans. Isn’t Thursday college night at all the bars?”

“Come ’ere,” he said, motioning for her. Reluctantly, she rose and stepped closer to him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down to his lap before she could protest. “I don’t want some chick. I want you. Get over it.”

She sighed. The thought of having Reid, of affording herself that little luxury for a few months, was so tempting. But their worlds existed on different orbits. “I like you, Reid. I just don’t know how anything between us could work. You have political mixers and frat parties, I have a household to run and now, apparently, crime scene cleanup. There’s no way—”

“Shh,” he said, smoothing her hair. “Stop overanalyzing every­thing. Don’t you ever shut off that busy brain and let yourself feel what you feel?”

“No.”

He laughed. “What about that night in my truck? You seemed like you were able to let go a bit. Weren’t you acting on feelings then?”

She smirked. “Well, yeah. I don’t get half-naked for guys as a personal hobby. Of course I felt something.”

“So what was different?”

She thought back to that night—the confident way he had touched her, the dirty talk, the way his kiss had made her senseless. She shifted in his lap, suddenly very aware of how close they were, and dropped her focus to her hands. “I don’t know. You took control, I guess. I didn’t have to make any decisions for a change, and it was kind of a relief.”

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