"Why?"

"Because I love her," I admitted, expecting him to tell me I was crazy.

"I suspected as much, which is why I didn't shove your nuts down your throat for touching her," he said, turning away from me. "Despite your delay, I'm thankful you found my daughter," he added, stepping into the cottage and closing the door behind him.

I stood looking at the door for several moments, fighting the urge to storm in and rage at Ashton for giving up. Instead, I forced myself to walk away. I would come back in the morning and tell her our no-attachment deal was void, that I was one hundred percent attached. I would make her see reason so she would know I would be at her side, fighting along with her. Tomorrow everything would look better.

I was wrong.

***

Ashton's car and the sedan from the airport were gone when I arrived at the cottage the next morning after a sleepless night. My fears were confirmed when I peered in the living room window and saw that all of her personal belongings were gone. She'd left without saying anything. Maybe our affair had been nothing to her. Was it possible all my feelings were completely one-sided? She'd warned me not to fall in love with her, claiming one of us would get hurt. Considering it was my chest that felt like a hole had been ripped out of it, I was guessing I was the one in this scenario.

I left her cottage in a pain, berating myself for allowing another woman to rip out my heart and stomp on it. This was why I had set my rules. Rules that should never be broken. I returned to the motel and methodically began to pack my personal items. I left the pictures on the wall until the end, intending to tear them up and throw them away since I no longer needed them. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I took each picture down with painstaking care before stowing them carefully in my briefcase. Twenty minutes after entering my room, I was on the road, heading out of town. I looked forward to the long drive home. It would give me time to get my head back on straight. >My next words were cut off as she threw her arms around my neck. "I seriously love you. I'm so glad you moved here," she said, giving me a smacking kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too, but I don't swing from that tree," I teased, linking my elbow through hers. "Let's go get you out of this date from hell."

Neither of the guys were talking by the time we reached the table. I had the distinct impression that wasn't the case the whole time we were gone. Judging by the scowl on Travis's face and the smirk of satisfaction on Nathan, something had gone down in our absence.

"We have to go," I said to Nathan, keeping my arm linked through Tressa's. "Tressa's not feeling good," I lied. Nathan jumped up without hesitation, obviously eager to leave.

"What the fuck? Your friends show up and you're suddenly ready to bail," Travis said, reaching out to snag her wrist. "I'm not ready for the night to be over."

"I am. This was a joke," she said with some of the fire I was used to seeing as she jerked her wrist from his hand.

Tressa and I grabbed our purses and turned to leave with Nathan trailing behind us.

"I'm proud of you," I said, giving her a one-armed hug as we headed across the dance floor toward the exit.

"Yeah, but now I have to face him twice a week in class. That ought to be fun," she said sarcastically.

"He'll probably ignore you," I said as someone stepped in front of us, abruptly cutting us off. I was startled to see that it was Travis.

"Babe, don't leave. We were just starting to have fun before your friends showed up," he cajoled, shooting a disdainful look my way. "Stay for a while," he pleaded, grabbing her hand again.

"Look, Travis, you're a nice enough guy, but I just don't see things working for us," Tressa said, tugging on her hand.

"Why, because your morbid bitch friend shows up and convinces you to leave," he snarled, tightening his hold on her wrist.

His comment seemed to start a ripple effect. Tressa may allow guys to treat her like a doormat, but she was obviously over it. She thrust her knee up into the poor bastard's groin, just as a fist streaked out from behind us, connecting with his jaw. Travis dropped at our feet in a matter of seconds after the confrontation had started.

The funny thing is no one around us seemed to miss a beat as they continued to dance around Travis lying on the ground. We didn't stick around for questions as Nathan propelled Tressa and me out of the club.

"Dude, your fist came out of nowhere," Tressa crowed as we stepped out into the brisk night.

Nathan merely nodded his head, not saying anything. It was hard for me to get a read on whether he was mad at Travis for his comment or at himself for hitting him.

"You both were pretty awesome coming to my defense like that," I said, trying to smooth things over.

"As if I'd let some dick talk smack about one of my besties," Tressa said, glancing at Nathan who was walking several paces ahead of us. She sent me a questioning look, but I shrugged my shoulders. This brooding side of him was something new to me.

"You just have to remember that attitude if he tries to give you any shit at school," I said, acting like everything was fine.

"I will. Something in there made me snap. I'm not going to be a doormat anymore. I want a relationship where the guy is willing to punch some dude in the face to defend my honor," she said, making it clear that Nathan could do no wrong in her eyes now.

It was on the edge of my tongue to tell her Nathan and I weren't in a relationship, that what we had was nothing but sexual. I could have set her straight, but even I was unsure what we suddenly were now. We'd been inseparable for the last five days, sharing stories, discovering each other's bodies and most of all, forming a bond I don't think either of us was expecting. I wanted him to forget his past history with love, but also, I didn't want to be sick, so we could have a chance at a real relationship.

"I think we should follow you to Woodfalls," Nathan told Tressa, opening her car door for her. "I don't think Travis will be going anywhere soon, but I'd rather you were out of Dodge if he tries to retaliate."

Tags: Tiffany King Woodfalls Girls Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net