Then
Harper
The thing about one-night stands is they’re supposed to be just that.
One night.
One night of fun. One night of no strings. No commitment.
But sometimes a one-night stand won’t go away. Sometimes a one-night stand keeps reoccurring, against your better judgement. Sometimes a one-night stand is just what you need, over and over again. But then it’s not really a one-night stand anymore. Then it becomes something else entirely, even when you didn’t want it to. It becomes something you can’t walk away from, even though you know you should. Even though you know it can’t continue without hurting someone else.
But sometimes…
You. Just. Can’t. Walk. Away.
Sometimes you find yourself waking up in their bed when you should have been home alone in your own.
Sometimes you find yourself doing the walk of shame at the crack of dawn, attempting to sneak past their roommate’s door before anyone finds out you were in the one place you both knew you shouldn’t have been.
With my heels in my hands, I crept down the hallway that had become as familiar to me as my own, silently trying to escape before anyone woke up. The sun had barely risen, so I knew it was early. I should have felt guilty for sneaking out, but I knew even though it might hurt him to find his bed empty again, he’d understand. He didn’t want this getting out of hand any more than I did. He didn’t want anyone finding out about our…extracurricular activities any more than I.
We knew we were asking for trouble. We knew if we didn’t stop this, it would blow up in our faces. And yet, we continued. There was something that kept bringing us back together. No matter how hard I tried to resist, all it took was one smile, and I was putty in his hands. But it was getting risky, and we really needed to stop.
“Don’t forget your purse,” Linc called from the kitchen. I froze, one foot on the fluffy grey rug, the other on the cold timber floorboards. Four more steps and I would have been free. Linc walked into the living room where I was contemplating running, with my purse in his hands. “Wouldn’t want anyone to know you were here again last night, would we?”
Again?
I turned to face him, my fingers fiddling with the straps on my heels. “How long?”
“How long, what?” He raised a questioning eyebrow and threw my purse down on the coffee table beside me.
“How long have you known?”
He laughed and clapped his hands on his legs. “That it was you? About a month. That he’d been sneaking someone in here every couple of weeks? Since we got back from Fiji.” He turned away from me and headed back into the kitchen. “Coffee?” he called over his shoulder.
My eyes widened, and I rushed after him into the small room, stopping on the other side of the counter. “Fiji was three months ago.”
“Walls are thin, sunshine.” He handed me a cup of black coffee and placed the smallest scoop of sugar into his.
My cheeks warmed in embarrassment. Oh God, he’d heard. I took a gulp of the liquid gold in my hands, scalding my throat, but I barely noticed. He’d heard.
“Don’t worry. I have noise-cancelling headphones.”
“You can’t say anything,” I pleaded, clutching the coffee cup to my chest. “To anyone.”
“You’re playing with fire, you know.” He narrowed his gaze on me, bringing his mug to his lips and taking a long, slow sip of coffee.
“I know.” I hoisted myself on the barstool at the counter and ran my hands through my hair. “But please don’t say anything to anyone. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
It was only supposed to be one night. One night of too many drinks and waking up one morning in Fiji to find myself in his bed with no memory of the night before.
He lifted a shoulder casually and leaned against the counter, facing me. “I’ll be quiet.”
“You will?” I sagged in relief.
“He’s my mate. And I know exactly what it feels like to want the one person you know you shouldn’t want, remember?” His smile was full of understanding, and in that moment, I knew Linc would keep our secret. At least for now. He’d secretly been in love with his best mate’s younger sister almost their entire lives, so he understood the struggle and the need for silence.
“But I don’t…It’s not like—”
“I don’t care what it’s like. It’s none of my business. But you need to…you both need to figure this shit out now, before either of you gets too attached and anyone else becomes collateral damage. If this is only something casual, end it now before you hurt either of them.”
“I don’t want to hurt them.”
“Then you need to figure it out.”
“Do you really think it’ll hurt Brody?” Even asking the question, I knew I sounded like an insensitive ass. Of course, it would hurt him. And that was the last thing I wanted. But there was something about Nate Kellerman that had me coming back for more.
“His cousin sleeping with his ex-girlfriend?” He screwed his face up and nodded. “Yeah, it’ll sting. Just a little.”
Just a little.
It wouldn’t hurt just a little. It would hurt a lot.
I needed to end this now. I didn’t want to be the cause of anyone’s pain.
“I’ll end it.” I sighed and lowered my head to the counter. I didn’t want to hurt Brody or lead Nate on if I didn’t know where this was going. Because, really, I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t want a relationship, but I liked the way Nate made me feel. “It’s done. As soon as he wakes up, I’ll tell him.”
Linc didn’t speak. He eyed me sceptically and nodded once before pouring his coffee down the sink. “Good.”
And then he picked up his surfboard that was leaning against the wall in the corner and left. He left me sitting there alone, waiting for Nate to wake up so I could end whatever it was between us before things got any more out of control.