Wanting Reed (Break Me) BOOK 2 (2 page)

“Slow down, would ya?” he pants, finally keeping pace with me since I’ve slowed down to a trot. “Not sure why you haven’t run a marathon yet. You’d kick some serious ass out there.”

“That could be on the horizon, for sure,” I say, wiping sweat from my brow. “I need to take this running thing to the next level. Focus on it a little bit more. Now that I’m single, I can do that.” I smile, glancing over at Tyler.

“Maybe we can run it together.” He smirks as I pull up under a tree to take a break and check my pulse.

“Would you really want me to show you up like that? Crossing the finish line like five minutes ahead of you? That would destroy your ego.” I laugh.

“Nah, I don’t give a shit about my ego. I’d have the best view the whole way.” He smiles crookedly, eyeing me from head to toe. “So, I think it’s a win-win for me.”

“Shit, Tyler.” I push him lightheartedly against his chest. “Have I ever told you how completely charming you are?”

“Not lately.” He laughs as he firmly grabs my wrists and backs me against the tree. Sweat is glistening on his chest and arms, and his damp brown hair is stuck to the nape of his neck. Even after running four miles with me, I can see why all the females are gawking at him today.

“Hey, buster.” I grimace, trying to wiggle my way out of his grasp.

“No, not until you say the magic word,” he breathes into my ear and chuckles.

“Come on. Cut it out.” I laugh, leaning my head away from him as he faintly blows in my face. My heart jumps and my cheeks burn being so close to his half-naked body that is covered with a thin sheen of sweat.

The magic word came about after I lost an arm wrestling match against him when we were eleven years old. I’ve never been a sore loser. He won fair and square. I don’t know what I was thinking when I accepted his stipulations. If anytime Tyler placed me in a situation I couldn’t escape, I’d have to say it. It was more like a magic phrase and not really a magic word, but it still reminds me of how naïve I was as a little girl and always willing to put others before me.

“Say it, Elle. It’s okay. No one can hear you,” he mocks as I continue to struggle to free myself from his hold. “Just me. That’s all that matters.” I glance around to see if anyone notices how ridiculous we look. From a distance, we probably resemble some regular couple that is unable to keep their hands off each other in public. It appears nobody notices us except for the two women sitting on a park bench who haven’t stopped trying to make eye contact with Tyler.

“Well, if you don’t want to say it, you know your other option.” He smiles wickedly.

“You could have thought up one of those secret handshake things that are really popular, but you had to be mushy about everything when we were younger. Didn’t you?” I reply as I nervously push lose strands of hair away from my hot face.

“Ahh...yes, but just with my best friend,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows. “Pick your poison, baby, or your pleasure.”

That’s it; I don’t battle anymore. He is much stronger than I am, and what little energy I have left after all our running will be wasted. Instead, I stand to face him. Smiling innocently, I let my arms go limp so that his grip softens just enough. He knows me better than to let down his guard completely. Say the word or kiss him? That was the debate occurring in my head. At eleven years old, I took the magic phrase over the kiss for fear of cooties. Now, I don’t want to say the phrase, and from where I’m standing, Tyler’s lips are looking okay.

Phrase. Kiss. Phrase. Kiss.

“Shit, Elle, you’re so indecisive. I thought the choice would be easier for you now that we’re older.” He laughs as he teasingly puckers his lips. “Do you want me to decide for you?” he asks as he inches closer, and his chestnut eyes focus on mine.

“No. No. Let me think.” I get frantically, fluttering butterflies in my stomach when I look up at him. I close my eyes and shake my head. “I can’t remember it now.” I giggle.

“Bullshit,” he says as his breath floats over my head. My head rests right under his chin, and his chest is mere inches from me. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you like being this close to me all hot and sweaty.”

“Oh, lord.” I inhale, laugh and open my eyes to look up at him. Do it. It’s already happened three times, and nothing has changed between us. Still friends. Still Tyler. I can feel his hands softening around my wrists as he throws his head back and chuckles. He glances down at me as I smile. For a second, I see sweet, little Tyler that played Little League. The same Tyler that I used to cheer for with my pom-poms at every game. Right then and there, I make the decision to kiss him.

It was just a peck, but when we pull away, I watch as Tyler opens his eyes, smiles and lets me go. A look of accomplishment passes across his face.

“Goof, I don’t know how I put up with you.” I smile as I coolly shove him in the chest.

“You know why.” He laughs and throws his arm over my shoulder.

Every piece of me knows why.

“So, you really signed the lease?” Jace asks as I grab a couple of bottled waters from the fridge and hand one to Tyler.

“Yes, Jace,” I respond for the third time, sighing in frustration. I don’t know what his problem is. Maybe he thinks asking me over and over again will somehow change my answer. I can tell by the look on his face that he’s not entirely on board with me moving out, although I’m pretty sure about it. I’ve already signed on the dotted line. I know it will be tough financially, but the student loans will help a little bit once school starts in a few weeks, and Dad agreed to pay for the first month’s rent and security deposit.

“Why Sis?” He looks up, crinkling his forehead as he throws the mail onto the kitchen counter.

“It just feels right. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. I need to be on my own, and I’m not far away. It’s just a mile. I’ll be closer to campus, too. You guys are gonna help me pack and move,” I say, looking between Jace and Tyler. “Well, move. The packing I can handle myself. I have some fragile possessions, and you guys are all thumbs,” I tease, even though there are butterflies as big as elephants in my stomach. The last time I talked about moving out was with Cane. I see him every once in a while since he comes over to pick up Jace to work out, and we still work together at the center. I realize with each passing day that I need to put space between the familiar and me to make a new path for myself. It hurts, but in the end, I will be better for it.

“What do I get for helping you move out? You have lots of crap to move,” Tyler says, raising his eyebrows.

“Have you seen the shitload of clothes in her closet? That alone can fill a damn U-Haul!” Jace laughs.

“Cut the crap.” I poke Jace in the chest. “How does apple pie sound?”

“Oh, shit. Don’t go there.” Tyler shakes his head and snorts. “Are you trying to kill me? I thought I meant more to you than to poison me like that.” He slaps his hand to his chest.

“Who said I was baking? Clear Flour Bread will do all the work for me. I’ll just buy the whipped cream and vanilla ice cream,” I say, turning away to open the cabinet. I’m unable to stop the memory of him from rushing to the forefront of my brain, and I suddenly forget what I was looking for. Vanilla ice cream. I knew it. Painful reminders of what we shared and the time we spent together flood my mind like water erupting through a faulty damn.
You’ll get over it,
I remind myself as I turn back to Jace and Tyler.

“Hey, are you all right?” Jace asks as he stops flipping through the huge pile of junk mail. “Looks like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

Tyler squints his eyes at me and runs his fingers through his hair. I shrug my shoulder, knowing there’s no need to explain since he knows me so well. I haven’t talked about what happened with Reed for a couple of weeks. He doesn’t push the issue with me because he knows how badly it hurts and for other obvious reasons.

“Okay, this right here,” I say, gesturing between my brother and me, “I will not miss for a second. I’m over this disturbing need to protect me like I’m some kind of helpless newborn.”

“Dude, your sister is losing it. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen to her once she moves into her own place.” Tyler glances from Jace to me, leaning back in his chair.

“I’m sure you two will be making plenty of unexpected visits just to annoy me as you go through major withdrawals.”

“You can just give us both a copy of your keys, or the potted plant idea works pretty well.” Tyler winks as he takes a gulp of water.

“That idea worked well here, but since I’m paying for my own place, I make the rules. No keys, no plants and no surprises.” I walk over and hug my brother around the waist.

“Let’s see how long it takes for those rules to be broken,” Jace counters as he squeezes me back.

“Can we talk about something else? Like, how about you,” I say, tilting my head in Tyler’s direction, “and your future in the Big Leagues?”

“Yeah,” Tyler replies, scratching his head. “I haven’t really been keeping up with that stuff for the past month or so. I’ve been preoccupied with other pressing matters.” Tyler locks eyes with me. I’m not going to lie; I did need my best friend.

“Dude, no worries. I’ve been doing it for you, and it’s looking pretty rosy from my end.” Jace glances over, smiling approvingly. “You’re at the top of the list in terms of shortstops. You’re a definite shoo-in to climb the farm system with any team in like no time. Shit, once you go pro, I can be your lawyer or agent and represent you so that you get every dollar you deserve, because your shit is like gold right now,” Jace finishes.

My brother is a consummate sports buff and was a multi-sport athlete in high school. He could probably play any college sport at Boston College, and it looks like he’s leaning toward football like Reed.
Great. Just another reminder of him.

Tyler finally breaks my gaze and turns to Jace. “Thanks for the update, bro.” He chuckles. “Seriously, I may consider you as my lawyer once you ace those boards. I’ve got to have the best people backing me up.”

“Speaking of best people, when is Travis coming home?” I ask Tyler, thankful that the focus is no longer on me.

“Two days.” He beams broadly. “Something is going on with him, but I don’t know what. He says it’s nothing, but I can tell when I last talked to him.”

“Hmm...what do you think it could be?” I ask, leaning against the counter.

“Who knows, he always likes to surprise me. Just like with this trip home.” He laughs. “I can’t wait to see him either way. You’re coming with me to pick him up, right?”

“Of course, I can always use another hand to help me move.” I wink, struggling to keep down the memory of the last time I was at the airport when Reed never returned. This isn’t going to get any easier for me any time soon.

I hit
Submit
on my computer to confirm my one-way flight back to Boston. Done. I close the laptop, rest my elbows on the table and cradle my head in my hands. I don’t like the huge crater that is forming in my gut from just thinking about going back there. I’m anxious after being gone an entire month, but it had to be done. I had to stay back and work out this whole fucking money issue with Jerry. He’s happy for the moment, and I’m sure as hell going to keep the other half of the bargain this time. I made it clear to him that my family or anyone close to me is off limits; I’ll be the one to suffer and no one else. There are still some strings attached, but I can deal with them for now because I know this time I won’t fail.

The worst part of this fucking situation is not talking to or seeing Elle. I didn’t want her to see or get involved in any part of my shit, but here I am, suffering the consequences of my bonehead decisions once again. I single-handedly pushed her away and maybe out of my life completely. When she didn’t answer my calls, I took that as her answer about how she felt about what I did to her. I don’t want to think that, but it could be a real possibility that I’ve lost her.

Still, I can’t stay in Texas and let go of her and all the memories I shared with her in the short time we were together go without an explanation. There weren’t many of them, but it’s quality over quantity. She’s been running circles in my brain. I can’t shake her smell, the feel of her hair, the warmth of her body, or the taste of her lips. She’s all I’ve been thinking about and all that I’ve been missing. My heart is trapped in my ribcage, and she’s the only one who can set it free. She trusted me not to hurt or destroy her. I never meant to, but I did.