Chapter Six

Reed

Tatum: I'll be home in five. Leaving work now.

Home.

Tatum was hired on the spot for the job at Sweet Tooth. Turns out she didn't need Wyatt to put in a good word for her. Her experience and the excitement to be in the kitchen were more than enough to impress them.

The next day, we went out for breakfast before class and spent the afternoon exploring Braysen as I showed her around town. It solidified our friendship, and now all I want is more time with her.

I overhear her downstairs, thanking Ava for the ride home, followed by the sound of the door shutting. Ava works at the dance academy, which is a block away from the bakery, and has offered to give Tatum a lift back to our place on the nights she works.

Pushing myself away from my computer, I stand and open my bedroom door. Anticipation builds as I listen for her footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Where's everyone else at?" Tatum says to someone in the living room.

"Uhh, I think Colter and Reed are out back chopping wood. Beckham is over at Hallyn's place, and who knows when he'll be home." Hayes's gruff voice echoes upstairs.

"Oh, okay. That sounds fun!"

"It'll be a good way for you to meet some people in town and make some new friends."

Hayes mentions heading out to pick up Everly, and Tatum tells him she'll come down in a bit to hang out with them. A few seconds later, I hear her jogging up the steps. I flick off the light in my room, bathing the hallway in darkness.

"It'll be fine, Tatum. It's just a party with a few people coming over," she mumbles low to herself.

When she reaches her door, I move in behind her, pressing my hands against the wall, trapping her in place.

"It's about time you get here." I snicker, leaning in closer, and she lets out a loud scream.

"Whoa, whoa, hey. It's okay, it's okay. It's me, Reed." I wrap my arms around her waist, burying my face into the crook of her neck.

She shoves my hands away and spins around to face me. Her eyes are wide and frantic, and I immediately regret my stupid prank, wishing I could rewind the last minute and start over.

The fear in her eyes and the way her body trembles have me cursing myself for being so careless.

"I'm so damn sorry, Tate. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just playing around, and I shouldn't have."

She holds up a hand between us and shakes her head. "It's not you, it's me. It's, I'm…" She struggles to get the words out while trying to collect herself.

I hold my arms out to her, instinctively wanting to comfort her, to reassure her everything's okay. Without hesitation, she wraps her arms around my waist. It isn't until she's pressed up against me that the tension in her body begins to ease.

"Are you okay?" I ask softly, resting my cheek against the top of her head. She nods, her breath slowly evening out against my chest.

"Yeah, and don't beat yourself up about it. I know you'd never hurt me and…" She exhales a heavy sigh. "You know, I wasn't always this, I don't know, jumpy? On edge?"

"What changed?"

She pulls away slightly, glancing up at me. Only the faint light coming from the end of the hallway casts enough glow for me to see her face.

"A lot, too much to explain right now," she mutters quietly.

There's a pain in her eyes, a flicker of something deeper and haunting, like she's sifting through memories she'd rather forget. She blinks, and it's gone, her expression guarded once again.

"I try not to think about it," she admits.

I feel like I'm close to scratching the surface of Tatum and what brought her to Braysen. If it's tied to the pain in her eyes, then maybe it's better I don't know, as long as she doesn't have to relive the details. What matters is she knows she's safe with me.

"We don't have to talk about it tonight. All I want you to know is that I'm here for you. Whatever it is—day or night—you just say the word, and I'm there."

"I know…"

"Do you, though?" I take a small step back, realizing we're still holding each other, and I want to see her face.

She hesitates for a moment, then drops her arms to her side and nods.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for you, I think this move would've been a harder adjustment. I appreciate you looking out for me, showing me around, everything, so thank you."

Without thinking, I gently lift her chin until her gaze meets mine. The second our eyes lock, there's an audible gasp, and she freezes. Only this time, it's not out of tension or fear.

There's something different there, and it's evident she's feeling it too.

"Please don't thank me," I whisper. "I'm glad you're here, and I enjoy being around you."

She smiles, and God help me; it hits me like a punch straight to my chest. Her eyes dart between mine and down to my lips, and for a moment, I wonder if she's waiting for me to kiss her.

My fingers shift until I press my palm against her cheek, my thumb resting below her chin. When she leans into my touch, I realize I'm fucked where this girl is concerned.

If she were any other girl I just met, I'd throw caution to the wind, pin her against the wall again, and kiss the breath out of her lungs. The girls before her were all foreplay to me. I hate admitting it, but I didn't care about anything more than the sex.

She's not like the others, though, and a part of me fears that crossing this line with her might push her away. I couldn't risk it, not when we've grown close in only a matter of a week.

"Be careful looking at me like that, sweetheart. I don't want to do anything you might regret later," I admit.

"Like what?" she asks, smirking. I brush my thumb lightly along the edge of her lip, and she sucks in a sharp breath.

"Like you're waiting for me to kiss you."

Her smile fades, and her eyes flicker, a hint of uncertainty mixed with anticipation in her gaze.

"It's not that I'd regret it. It's just that…"

I search her face, holding my breath, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"Right, I remember. You've sworn off men and are now committed to old maid life with cats, bunnies, and birdbaths," I tease.

Tatum giggles, and I can't help but smile.

"I moved here to get away from the past. I don't have it in me to let someone in only for things to end up like they did last time. That's why I made a rule. No more dating, and no more football players. Besides, if I had to choose, I'd rather keep you as my friend. At least that way, it won't complicate things with me living here. I don't want to lose the friendship we have anyway."

"You wouldn't lose me as a friend." I shake my head, and she presses her lips together, like she's fighting some internal battle. "It's okay, though. You have my word. I won't think about kissing you again."

I'm already struggling to forget you lying on the other side of this damn wall, picturing you pleasuring yourself with that damn vibrator.

I clear my throat, trying to lighten the mood. "You have to promise you won't look at me like that either. You can only tempt me so much before it turns into torture."

She steps back, nodding, and turns toward her door. She hesitates, glancing back at me. There's a conflicted look in her eyes, like she's on the verge of saying more before she thinks better of it and reaches for the doorknob.

The front door opens downstairs, followed by the low murmur of Hayes's and Everly's voices.

"I'm going to change out of my work clothes and clean myself up. Do you want to come down and hang out with us?"

I nod. "I'll meet you down there."

She steps into her room and softly shuts the door behind her. I lean against the wall, the plaster a stark contrast against my heated skin. I squeeze my eyes shut and massage my fingers over them.

She has a rule against dating football players.

I exhale a sigh and head downstairs, where Everly and Hayes are sitting on the couch, her legs draped across his lap and her arm around his neck. She's staring at him with love in her eyes, completely lost in him. They don't even notice I've entered the room until I clear my throat.

What I wouldn't give to have what they've found in each other.

Hayes started spending time with Everly after a rocky first meeting when she showed up at practice with her friend Willow to do a social media interview ahead of homecoming last year. Hayes isn't a fan of talking to the media, whether it's a Braysen student or some network reporter. He's always felt it was another opportunity for them to take what he says and twist it into whatever narrative they were pushing that week.

Given his history, I can't say I blame him either.

Hayes needed someone like Everly to set him straight, who wouldn't take any of his crap. I didn't even realize they had gotten so close until she popped up with him, and they casually announced they were dating. It caught everyone off guard, including his twin brother, Beckham.

Seeing them together now, almost a year later, it all just makes sense.

"I think Colter is still out back chopping wood if you guys wanna head outside and sit by the fire," I suggest.

They exchanged a quick look before nodding.

"Yeah," Hayes agrees. "I'll go grab my hoodie, and we'll meet you out there."

The stairs creak as Tatum reaches the landing, adjusting the hood on her sweatshirt. Her eyes bounce between the two lovebirds and over to me.

"What's going on?" she asks.

"I was asking if they wanted to go outside and sit by the fire for a little bit. It's a nice night," I reply, nodding toward the back patio.

"Sounds good to me." Tatum smiles at Everly as the two pass between us, heading to Hayes's room, leaving Tatum and me alone once again.

Once they disappear, Tatum turns to me, her eyes searching my face.

"Is everything okay? With us, I mean? You're not upset, are you?"

Without a second thought, I bend down and toss her over my shoulder. She lets out a yelp, swatting at my ass as I head toward the patio door.

"What the hell, Reed? What are you doing?" she demands, her words coming out in breathy pants.

"We're done with your ridiculous questions for tonight. I have a fire to start, and I need your ass planted next to me."

I swipe one of the blankets from the table near the door, tucking it under my arm as I slide open the glass door.

"You can put me down, you know. I have two perfectly good legs," she huffs.

"Trust me, I know." I snicker as she squirms against me. "Your legs are one of my favorite things about you."

"Smart-ass," she retorts, but even I can hear the laughter in her voice.

I cut across the patio, past our pool, and over to the chairs around the bonfire pit we built. Over the summer, I helped Colter level the area, lay down some gravel, and set up a few wooden Adirondack chairs.

Stopping in front of one of the chairs, I fling the blanket over the backrest and wrap my arms around Tatum, adjusting my grip until she slides down enough for me to deposit her in the chair.

She lands with an oof, giving me a speculative eye, like I was caught feeling up those very legs I told her I admired about her.

Maybe I did; maybe I didn't. Sue me.

"That was totally uncalled for." She rolls her eyes as she pulls the blanket from behind her and drapes it across her lap.

I start lighting the tiki torches and tossing logs into the firepit. Hayes mentioned Colter was out here earlier. Judging by the stack of wood, he'd been adding to the pile at some point, but he's nowhere to be found now.

"Did you hear me?" Tatum calls out.

"Yes, but I thought we were done with the ridiculous questions for the night," I reply with a smirk.

"It wasn't a question," she retorts.

"You know what I mean, but if this is a conversation you want to have, I'm happy to talk about it. You want to know what I think is uncalled for?"

"Actually, I do, so why don't you tell me." She folds her arms, challenging me.

"You thinking there's anything that happened upstairs I'd be upset about?"

"Okay, fine, maybe I should've asked if we're on the same page and nothing is changing between us."

I toss another log onto the fire, then turn to face her, crouching down to meet her gaze directly.

"Maybe you won't believe it, and maybe I need time to prove it to you, but you never have to worry about me changing up on you. I'd never let anyone hurt you. I've been let down enough in my life to understand how it feels. One day, you won't need to keep making excuses or rules not to trust me, and you won't even need my reassurance to know it's true either."

She studies me for a long moment, her eyes searching mine. "Maybe, and I hope you're right."