“Yep. What about you?”
“Never.” He shakes his head before smiling proudly.
“You’ve never broken anything?”
“Nope. Never even been to the hospital. I’m like Superman. The man of steel.”
My gaze falls to his hard, tattooed chest and I smile appreciatively. “Yeah, you are.” I bite my lip and nod, ogling Reed’s sculpted abs until he covers them with his arms.
“Stop objectifying me,” he chastises, but can’t keep a straight face as he sinks lower into the water.
“I can’t stop. Won’t stop. You brought attention to it. What was I supposed to do?”
“Point taken. Next question.”
I think on it for a moment before a question comes to mind. “Are you ready for something a little more personal?”
Reed scoffs as he stares at me deadpan. “You asked me if I was a virgin when you barely knew me. I think we’re past that, Hayls, don’t you?”
“You’re right. So…I didn’t want to ask this through messages, but…” I wince in hesitation. “I noticed that Bria wasn’t happy when you left the charity event the other week. Care to share?” I raise an eyebrow and Reed laughs awkwardly, running his hand through his now wet hair.
“Not—”
“You don’t have to tell me,” I cut in. “Forget—”
“Actually, I was going to say…not usually, but in this case I will.”
“Oooh. I feel special.”
“You should. I’m the guy that helps other people with their problems. I don’t talk about my own.”
“Yeah, I got that about you. Soo…” I trail off and bounce on my toes, waiting in anticipation—not that he can see my feet.
He’s silent for a beat before he breathes out a sigh and I instantly regret it. “Sor—”
With a wave of his hand, he cuts off my apology. “The short of it is that Bria was having a bad day and she took it out on me.”
“Damn. Does that happen often?”
“Not really. We’ve always had an easygoing relationship.”
“What changed?”
“The guy she liked ghosted her.”
“What?” I cough, choking on nothing. I wasn’t expecting him to say that. “Does she seriously have no idea that you want her?”
“Apparently not.” He lifts his shoulders in a shrug, a defeated look in his eyes.
“Jesus. That sucks.” I cringe, suddenly wanting to slap some sense into Bria. “You have to tell her.”
“Actually, on the flip side, I decided it’s about time I moved on.”
“Oh, yeah? And how’s that going for you?”
Reed drops his face into the water and I bite back a laugh when he pops back up. “It’s not,” he admits.
“You need to get laid.”
