Page 97 of The Obvious Check
“Aw, Sav. You already know you can take whatever the hell you want from my house, and I’ll help you carry it to your car. I’m just surprised out of everything, you decided to take a shirt. One that hasn’t been washed, no less.”
Her shoulders roll, and she cowers into herself. “Yeah, well, you weren’t home, and this smelled of you.” She says the last part so quietly I almost don’t hear it. Then she tugs the collar of my shirt up until it covers half of her face, leaving only those big, green eyes peeking over the fabric, watching me like she’s embarrassed by the confession.
“You can’t hide from me. You know I can see you, right?”
She pulls the shirt away and rolls her eyes. “Obviously. You’re literally spying on me through a dog camera.”
I smirk. “First of all, checking in is not the same as spying. And second…” I pause, letting my voice drop a little lower. “I meant I canseeyou. As in who you are deep down. Sometimes I don’t think you even realize how strong you are.”
“That’s not true.” She tries to say it under her breath, but I still manage to hear it since Madison got the expensive camera.
“It is.”
She lifts her head, her mouth parting in surprise.
“You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You’ve lived in your car for over a year and still found hope in your future. I don’t think I could do that. Let’s not forget how fiercely loyal you are. You’ll fight for the people you love, even if it means depriving yourself of things you want because material things? They don’t matter to you. You see through all that superficial bullshit.”
“And what am I depriving myself of right now?”
“Freedom. You could run away from everything and have no responsibility, but instead, you’re focused on doing things to get your sister back even if it means you’re trapped working for an asshole. An asshole who doesn’t know what’s coming to him, I might add.”
She swallows, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. Then, slowly, she lifts it back up over her mouth, cowering into it.
I grin. “You know if you keep doing that, I’m going to start thinking you’re hiding something.”
“I just…” She exhales, her voice muffled through the fabric. “I don’t know how to take that.”
“Take it as a compliment because that’s what it is.”
“I’m not good at taking compliments.”
“Well, you’re going to need to get used to them.” My voice is light, but I mean every word. “Because you’re gonna be hearing them a lot.”
She rolls her eyes. “Besides stalking me and trying to give me unearned compliments, was there something you wanted?”
I tap my fingers against the comforter, debating how to phrase this. Then I realize that it’s going to come out sooner or later, so I might as well just say it. “Those were my main reasons forchecking in on you, but I also think it’s important you know I told my friends.”
“About?” Okay, clearly that didn’t register, and she isn’t thinking about our potential nuptials as much as I am.
“Our engagement.”
She sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes staring down at the camera. “Oh, you did?”
Shit.Did I fuck up?
“I’m sorry. Fuck.” I drag my free hand through my hair, feeling like an asshole. “This was clearly a logistics question I should’ve run by you first. I planned on only telling Dash. He’s my best friend, and you haven’t met him yet, but he already knows there’s something going on between us. I wanted to tell him before he spotted you at a game wearing my ring.”
“Your ring?”
“And not the ring pop I gave you, either. Something that will sparkle so much, it will distract our opponents,” I joke, hoping that would lighten the mood. She stays quiet, which only pushes me to keep talking. “That’s not you, though. Obviously. I’ll be looking at something a little more understated. Something that reminds me of you.”
She lets out an unconvincing laugh and starts to play with the blanket, not looking up.
“Talk to me, Sav. Please.”
It takes her a few minutes to look back up. Her eyes are glassy, and I feel like shit that I’ve upset her. “I told Adley today too, and I don’t know. Telling people makes me feel like it’s more real. More tangible, you know?”
“Is that making you upset?”
