“Great. Yeah… So this is probably a good time to tell you that she and Trev are going on a date later today.”
“The hell? Trevor? Why?”
Chase laughs, shaking his head. “What do you mean ‘why’? He likes her, and Kayla’s been trying to set them up for months.”
“Naw, fuck that!” Heat courses through my body, my head pounding at the thought of Ashlie and Trevor together.I have to sit and watch her go off with that asswipe? I curl my fingers into fists, cracking my knuckles as I try to contain the jealous rage bubbling under the surface. It’s an unusual feeling for me. The women I’ve been with have never elicited jealousy; they don’t last long enough to matter. Ashlie is a different story. My eyebrows knit, and just as quickly fall as my face morphs into a display of the emotions filtering through me. Chase laughs again and claps my shoulder. “Are you screwing with me?” The brash question erupts out of me, but he takes it in stride.
“Nope. But based on your reaction, you might want to reconsider the whole ‘letting her go’ thing.”
“Is that why he’s here? They have a thing? Why wouldn’t you tell me they have a thing?”
“Hey, don’t blame me”—he holds up his palms, backing up toward the trail—“I just found out aboutyourthing. Maybe don’t keep me in the dark next time.”
I curse under my breath when he takes off and slip the buds in my ears, hoping the beat will drown out the noise in my head. When I make it back to the deck, Chase is stretching against the railing.
“Hey, Hunt…”
“What?” I breathe out, exasperated by him and this entire conversation. I’m pretty sure I’ve gone through every conflicting emotion in the last forty-five minutes.
“People aren’t always going to leave you, man. Don’t miss out on life because you’re scared of the what-ifs. Happiness is worth the risk.” He claps me on the shoulder and walks inside the lodge, leaving me to sort out the tangled thatch of thoughts in my head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ASHLIE
“Let me get this straight,” I say to Trevor. “You’re a tech nerd, you served in the Coast Guard,andyou play piano? You got a cape hidden under that T-shirt too?”
“Eh, I’m well-rounded, but I’m still working on the superhero alter ego.” He winks, and the school-girl giggle that erupts out of me is only a bit of a surprise. He’s been making me laugh like this the entire hike, completely taking my mind off the mess waiting at the cabin. We reach a clearing, crunching through red and yellow maple leaves until we settle onto a fallen log. The sun hangs high in the sky, highlighting the rusted color of his hair in an easy comparison to the leaves dropping from the trees.
“I can grab you some leggings from work whenever you’re ready for that part. You’re on your own with the cape, though…” I tease. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“Hmm”—he stretches his long legs out in front of him—“I was a theater kid, played football, and joined the swim team.”
“You’re kidding!” I grip his arm from excitement, only to drop my hand quickly when I realize the intimacy. “I was on the swim team too.”
“Oh, yeah?” His brows rise with interest. “Swim is what got the Coast Guard on my radar. So, you did cheer and swim?”
Nodding, I pull some bark off the log, breaking little bits with my fingers and sprinkling them on the ground to occupy my hands. “Cheerleading was for my parents, but swimming was all mine. It kept me sane, and, despite being short, I broke some records at ULA. Earned the team captain spot my senior year too.”
“That’s impressive.” He nudges my shoulder with a flirty grin. “I was too involved with everything else to be good at swimming competitively, but it was fun.”
I nod as the smile grows on my face. The more Trevor shares with me on this trail, the more I want to know. He’s genuinely interested in learning about me too. I haven’t seen a red flag yet, and the green ones are steadily glowing more vibrant. “Whywereyou so involved? It sounds like you did everything.” I tap his foot with mine and smile.
“I did.” He chuckles. “Where I’m from, there’s not much to do besides get drunk in cornfields and get arrested. Staying busy kept me out of trouble long enough to get out of there. I finished high school early just to leave that place.”
“Okay, smarty-pants,” I tease. “You mentioned before that you hated growing up there. Do you go back very often?”
“Christmas is all I can handle back home. I give my family that week every year. If they want to see me more than that, I convince them to go on vacation.”
“Come on, Trev.” I place a hand on his knee, giving it a little shake. His eyes drop to our connection, and a migration of butterflies surges through me when the smallest smirk quirks the corner of his mouth. “Small towns aren’t all bad. I love this place. The city has its perks, but being able to slow down when I come home is the best.”
I pat his knee, and as I pull away, he covers my hand with his. Biting my lip, I take a breath before looking into his eyes. They’re so warm and inviting.Safe. Sitting with him is surprisingly comfortable.
“You grew up here, right?” His thumb slides across my hand, leaving a trail of tingles in its wake.
“Uh, kind of. We moved from Vegas when I started middle school, which sucked at first. Going from a diverse city to a quiet place where no one looked like me was tough. I didn’t feel like I really fit in until I met Kayla in high school. But it’s grown on me, and now it’s home.”
“I get that. What about your sister? You two had each other, yeah?”
