evie

After another awkward hour at the bar dodging Mason’s questions about New York, we make our way back to the house. It’s not long until he’s ready for bed, the long hours he’s been working combined with the amount of beer he’d consumed coming back to haunt him.

I shoot Dash a text to let him know I’ll be leaving soon and when he responds immediately telling me to come outside, I can’t stop the wide grin from moving over my lips.

I slip outside, surprised when I don’t see the beater truck he’s usually in, but a beautifully restored, gunmetal grey Mustang.

As I make my way to the door, I can hear the low rumble of the engine and I see him behind the wheel, his elbow propped against the frame of the open window, staring out the windshield. His features are just barely illuminated from the street light across the way and the dark leather jacket he’s wearing makes him look like an extension of the car, maybe the other way around. When I lightly tap on the passenger window, he reaches across to open the door and glances up at me, his eyes sparkling just slightly as he takes me in.

Jesus, I think I just came.

Stifling the shudder, I slip inside and try not to be obvious as I take in the interior, which is just as pretty.

“Hey,” he says quietly, the gentle smile on his lips warming me.

“Hi,” I say slow, biting on my lower lip in thought. “Is this stolen?”

“Would she be hotter if she was?” he asks as he shifts the gears and pulls away from the curb, the mischievous twinkle of his eyes making me chuckle.

“I’m not sure anything could make this car hotter,” I admit, putting a cocky grin on his lips.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but no,” he smirks. “Laura Sue is not stolen.”

“She has a name?”

“Of course,” he replies, his expression serious as he glances over at me like the information should be a given. “Everyone’s girlfriend has a name.”

“Your girlfriend?” I chuckle.

“Yep. She prefers I call her Sue for short,” he nods, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. “Sue drives me wild.”

I nod, glancing around and taking all of her in, running my fingers over the smooth interior before I glance over to find him watching me.

“Dash?”

“Hmm?”

“I kinda want to make out with your girlfriend,” I confess, making him laugh. “Will you let me drive her?”

My words have his laughter coming out louder, his head shaking before the words come out.

“Not even a little bit.”

“Why not?” I ask, my face contorting in offense. “I’m a good driver!”

“Doesn’t matter,” he shrugs, his eyes still dancing as he glances over at me. “Sue’s a one man kinda girl. No one drives her but me.”

“C’mon!” I argue, making him chuckle again as I chew on my lip, deliberating my next words. “If you let me drive her, I’ll tell you about the time I made out with a girl.”

“Baby, you’re not…” he starts, his words faltering as he gives me a double take. “You made out with a girl?” I nod, making his eyes narrow in disbelief. “What was her name?”

“Jodie,” I wink, settling back against the seat, internally practicing my victory lap. “She was all over me.”

He pulls up to a stop sign, seeming to consider my proposal before shaking his head.

“Nope, not worth it,” he pulls away, making me gasp. “Well played, though. We’ll be revisiting that later.”

“Well, are you planning to share?”

“No,” he says bluntly.

“Then I won’t be, either.”

“Okay,” he shrugs, calling my bluff as he pulls into a small garage beside his building.

“You don’t want to know?”

“Well, I mean if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Seriously?”

“Baby, all I needed was a name and to know it happened,” he winks. “Trust me. I can fill in the rest.”

***

I tell myself repeatedly to broach the subject of New York, the subject of us, but we’re having such an easy night, I fall asleep on the couch with my head in his lap before I can.

I vaguely remember him lifting me, carrying me to his bedroom. I raised my arms around his neck, inhaling his scent and savoring in the gentle sigh that left his lips as he gently pulled me across the mattress, settling my back to his front.

My time has run out.

Tomorrow, I’d have no choice but to talk to him, lay myself bare in front of him and pray he doesn’t shatter the piece of my heart I swore I’d never give him, but he’d claimed as his own anyway.

I still wasn’t sure about New York, but I’d planned to see how things went with him tomorrow and then worry about the rest of it once the chips had fallen.

Was it foolish to let my heart decide my future? Perhaps, but it was me who would be forced to live with this decision, no one else, and this was the only thing that felt right to me, felt safe.

He was the only thing that felt right and safe.

The realization made me swallow hard as I drifted, leaving my fate to the wind outside our window and the man I’d vowed to hate forever, holding me tightly in his arms.

Tomorrow, I’d have my answer.

I’d either be on a plane to New York in four months or I’d be with Dash Hunter forever.

dash

We wake with a start as the sound of a fist banging against my front door travels through my apartment. I glance down to find her stirring and I tighten my grip around her slightly as I press my lips into her hair.

“Go back to sleep, baby,” I whisper as her eyes begin to flutter awake and with a gentle nod, I kiss her cheek, reluctantly leaving her alone in my bed.

I pull my bedroom door shut and stumble down my hallway, still half asleep, and pull the front door open without a second thought.

I already know who it is.

Only two people know where I live and one is currently wrapped in my bedsheets.

“Hey man,” I mumble, making my way to the kitchen as Mason follows closely behind.

“Hey,” he says. “Did I wake you up?”

“You always wake me up,” I yawn, pressing start on my coffee maker and shaking my head when I look at the time. “What’s up?”

“Nothing good,” he sighs, leaning back against the counter as I turn to face him. “This shit with Evie’s got me stressed the fuck out.”

Most people would think it was unhealthy how badly Mason worried over his sister. To be fair, in a lot of cases, they’d be right, but I get it.

Even before everything happened between us, I got it.

Their father passing when she was so young, Mason always felt the need to watch out for her, pick up in whatever way he could so she wouldn’t miss out. He’d done a great job for the most part, it couldn’t have been easy to balance being a teenager and a big brother she could look up to, but he did it.

Even once he graduated and started college, he worked double the hours to help Donna pay for her school. It wasn’t something widely known, but regardless of her insane talent, Evie wouldn’t have the chance to turn down prestigious job offers if it hadn’t been for Mason.

The real kicker is that he never complained, never tried to run her life or make decisions for her. He left that part to their mother opting to offer her support in every other way he could, but sometimes, his protective streak got the better of him.

It wasn’t out of a need for control. It was out of fear that she wouldn’t have the amazing life he and his mother had worked so hard to give her.

So, yeah. I get it.

Glancing over at my best friend, I can see how this is eating at him, making him insane.

I wish there was something I could do to help, but how can you help someone you don’t even have the balls to be honest with?

You’ve really outdone yourself here, jackass.

“I thought you were going to talk to her again?”

“I did!” he rails, throwing his arms up in annoyance. “I tried talking to her about it again last night and she lied right to my face,” he shakes his head, his face contorting in offense. “Said she had to go to the bathroom and was gone for like… forty-five minutes. She told me she had a phone call, but she’s a lying little shit. That girl has never been in the bathroom for forty-five minutes, I’ll tell ya that right now.”

His words have me letting out an involuntary chuckle as I turn to fill my cup, grateful as it washes over my tongue.

“Well, you said she leaves tonight?”

“Yeah,” he nods, grabbing his own cup. “Yeah, she boards her plane at seven-thirty.”

“Why don’t you try talking to her again,” I shrug. “Get your mom in on it. She might lie to you,” I smirk. “But no one’s lying to your mom.”

“I don’t think I can bring it up again without starting a huge thing,” he sighs, shaking his head. “I think the thing that annoys me more than anything is that I feel like she’s throwing it all away. I feel like she’s throwing it all away and I’m gonna find out it’s over some little fucker she’s screwing around with and I’m gonna lose my shit and end up in jail!”

“Meh, I’ll bail you out, man,” I shrug, trying to make light of it despite the turmoil going on inside me. “Besides, even if it is a guy, who’s to say she’ll even be able to hang on to the poor bastard in a few months. I know she’s your sister, but even you have to admit, she can be a fuckin’ psycho,” I offer, taking in his look of warning.

“Watch it about my sister, Dash,”

“I’m just sayin’,” I shrug. “Maybe you’ll luck out and the evil one will show her true colors, scare the helpless little fucker away before she has to make a decision.”

“Maybe,” he sighs, rubbing the back of his hand over his neck before throwing the last of his coffee back and setting his cup in the sink. “I do know this,” he says, glancing over his shoulder as he starts to make his way out of the kitchen, back toward the door. “If the guy knows anything about it and gives two shits about Evie, he’ll tell her to go. No one in their right mind would ever tell another person to stick around here when they’ve got a chance like that for the taking, ya know?”

“Yeah,” I nod, my voice quiet as I follow him to the door. “Yeah, I see your point.”

“Anyway,” he sighs. “Thanks man. I’m sorry I came over here just to bitch,” he sighs. “I just… my mom’s got all this shit going on so I can’t talk to her about it and you’re my best friend,” he smiles small, the stress keeping it from his eyes.

“No problem, man,” I wave him off. “That’s what I’m here for.”

“Thanks,” he says again, giving me a brotherly pat on the shoulder before pulling the door shut.

I replay his words in my mind, releasing a long, low sigh as the truth in them finds me.

There’s no way it’s me, I think to myself as I rest my hands on my hips, staring up at my ceiling.

My mind replays all the things she’d said about doing once she graduated, all the places she wanted to go, the things she wanted us to do together. Not once did she mention New York. Not once did she mention leaving this state, let alone this city.

Please don’t let it be me.

I swallow past the emotion in my throat, blowing out a breath. My eyes move toward my bedroom door, knowing she’s behind it, knowing that’s the only place I want her to be, but the last thing she deserves.

There’s no way she feels the same way I do.

“Please don’t make me do this, baby,” I whisper almost silently as I stare at the door, my eyes pricking for the first time in years. “Please don’t let it be me.”

“Kiss me, Dash…”

The memory of her blue eyes flood into my mind, the sensation of everything I felt in that moment flooding right back into me as her lips crashed against mine, stealing my breath, claiming my soul.

“Fuck…” I whisper, rubbing my palms over my eyes as I squeeze them shut tight. “Son of a bitch, Evie. Don’t you dare fucking do this to me,” I beg silently, the sting behind my eyes unrelenting. “Dammit, baby.”

I swallow hard and force my feet to move, slowly making my way down the hallway.

There’s no way it’s me…

But if it is, I know what I have to do.

I have to keep my word.

I have to make her hate me again.