The Crush

Dr. Stein nodded. “Jace is forbidden. That drives your attraction to him.”

I shrugged. “My feelings for him go back to childhood. It’s much more than the fact that he’s unattainable. There are many things about him I’m attracted to—his vulnerability despite his rough exterior…his humor—from the moment I met him, when we were both kids, I was drawn to him. He came back to Florida after nine years of being away, and I’ve realized not much has changed in terms of my attraction, except that I admire him for additional reasons now. His desire to help his father, his hardworking attitude. Of course, the physical attraction has only grown—men get so much better with age, don’t they?”

“I have to agree with you on that. It’s quite unfair.” She smiled and looked down at her notes again. “Okay, Farrah. From everything I can tell, you’re on the right path. You know a relationship with Jace would be toxic, not only because it would hurt your brother, but because I think your feelings toward him border on obsessive. I think working toward developing something genuine with this new guy is the healthiest choice for you right now.”

Her use of the word obsessive caught me off guard and made me wonder if I was coming across as a crazy person despite my best efforts not to. Kellianne had referred to my feelings for Jace as an obsession once, too.

The session lasted fifteen more minutes before Dr. Stein bid me farewell for now, and I left the office to find Colton waiting for me outside.

“Thanks again for picking me up,” I said as I got into his electric blue Jeep.

“No problem.” He leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. “How was it? I mean, you don’t have to tell me what you talked about, but did you get something out of it?”

“Yeah… It’s definitely been a good thing for me.”

“I’m glad.” He placed his hand on my knee. “Do you know where you want to go? I’m kind of hungry. Are you?”

My stomach growled. “I could eat. I just need to stop by the house real quick. I have to see if I got this envelope I’m waiting for. It’s important, and I don’t want it sitting in the mailbox.”

“Mind if I ask what it is? Or is it private?”

“It’s Shawn Mendes tickets.”

He laughed. “You like him?”

“Actually, no. Well, he’s okay, but the tickets aren’t for me. They’re for my next-door neighbor, Nora. She’s eleven and is obsessed with him.”

And I know a little about obsessions apparently.

“You bought them for her?”

I shrugged. “She doesn’t have any money, and her mother is a single mom trying to make ends meet. I wanted to do something nice for her. I just hope her mother will let her go. She can be kind of strict, even though she leaves her alone every afternoon to fend for herself.”

“Damn. It would be a shame if she stopped her from going. That girl is going to love you for those tickets.”

I nodded. Just thinking about Nora’s reaction made me giddy. “It’s probably going to make her whole year. I’ve been counting on being able to snag tickets. Someone I work with is married to a guy who works at the box office and was able to get me two.”

Colton reached over to pinch me on the cheek. “You’re such a sweetheart, Farrah.” His touch made my skin tingle. I was definitely attracted to him. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he was the total opposite of Jace, though. All things considered, that was a good thing. Jace was my forbidden dark knight, and Colton was more like an angel with open arms.

“It feels good to do something nice for someone.”

“What you put out into the world will definitely come back to you,” he said as he parked in front of my house.

“I’ll be right back.”

Sure enough, when I got to the mailbox, the tickets were sitting there, so it was a good decision to have come home. I checked inside the envelope to make sure everything looked alright before stuffing it safely inside my purse.

Just when I was about to turn back to Colton, Jace’s truck pulled up. My heart began to race. His eyes met mine. Now that he’d spotted me, I couldn’t just take off without saying hello. Unfortunately, saying hello also meant having to introduce him to Colton. This was going to be super awkward, but it had to happen eventually.

So I continued to stand by the mailbox and waited for Jace to exit his truck.

Wiping my sweaty palms on my shorts, I said, “Hey…how’s it going?”

Jace slammed his door and his eyes darted over to Colton waiting in the Jeep. He inclined his head. “That your new boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend, but Colton and I are dating, yes.”