Never thought I’d hear the word come from his mouth. I like it.
Too much.
My pulse kicks into high gear, and with his ear over my heart, I wonder if he can hear what his words do to me.
“Are you?” he whispers.
“Do you want me to be?”
Please say yes. Please say yes.
“I don’t know.”
My heart plummets, and my fingers still in his hair. In this moment I realize Lincoln has the power to truly hurt me.
He looks up, propping his chin on my chest. The glossy look is still there, reminding me he’s intoxicated.
“I’ve never had a girlfriend.”
I find that hard to believe.
He blinks and continues. “I’m scared.”
Oh God. He’s opening up to me, and I’m not sure what to think of it. He probably wouldn’t be saying any of this if he were sober.
“Of what?”
“You.”
We stare at each other for several long seconds before he breaks the connection and finds his sweet spot against my chest. My fingers start circling through his hair, and I bring my lips to the top of his head, closing my eyes while I breathe in his woodsy scent. It’s a smell I’ve grown to love—a smell that brings me comfort because it reminds me of being home.
I feel safe in Lincoln’s arms. Safe and treasured and cared for, despite our futile attempt to keep our relationship light and easy.
I ache with the need to talk to him—to sort all of this out. But it’s a conversation best had when he’s undoubtedly sober.
“Lincoln?”
“Yeah?”
“You scare me too.”
I’m not even sure if he hears me, because a second later he’s snoring softly.
6
Lincoln
Soft rays of sunlight filter through the widow, stabbing me in the eyes. I wince and roll over, hoping to catch a handful of soft, warm female but come up empty. The sheets on Adley’s side of the bed are cold.
Moaning, I roll back to my side of the bed and try to sit up, but I flop down when a sharp pain cuts through my temple.
This is what I get for drinking.
I take a deep breath and try to convince myself to go search for Adley, but my body doesn’t move. After Chloe’s girlfriend declaration at the gym yesterday, I lost my mind. My head was a jumbled mess, and I tried my hardest to pound it out on the mats. Hunter didn’t see me coming. By the time we were both flat on our backs in the middle of the ring and panting for air, I was more confused than when I’d started.
So, I did what any good ol’ boy would do; I stayed at The Barn after hours and knocked a few back with my friends.
It wasn’t until I opened the front door and saw Adley asleep on my couch that things shifted into focus. Mentally, not visually. Visually I was seeing two of everything, but I was with-it enough to realize I liked the look of her in my house, asleep on my couch. I liked it even more that she came unannounced.