Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Reid

She didn’t like it. She loved it. She loved my story. I couldn’t get her to stop talking about it if I’d wanted to. The story was over one hundred thousand words, so she was only a third of the way through, but she loved it.

Sophie loved something I’d written. Even if she hated every other story of mine, I would never get over this feeling while hearing her gush about her favorite parts, and there were many.

“Oh shit, I need to stop,” she said before she put her hand over her mouth and giggled. “I’m fangirling all over you.”

Well, fuck. That conjured up all kinds of lurid ideas.

“It’s okay, Soph. I don’t mind. At all. It’s a huge relief. No one I’ve been friends with has ever read my work and told me what they thought. I don’t know if I was more scared about you hating it or going to therapy to be honest.” I’d freaked out about both last night switching back and forth. I was fucking exhausted.

“Aw, Reid. I would never hate your work. Even if it had been rough, I would have found something good in it. Promise. But I didn’t need to look. Your work is good.” She reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing my fingers. “You’re good. And you should trust my judgment because I’m literally in grad school for writing.”

That made us both laugh.

“You have talent, Reid. You do. And if you ever wanted to share it in a different way, say, writing a book, I would love to be part of that. Or cheer you on. Whatever you need.”

Sincerity was one of Sophie’s best qualities and she had many. I’d never thought of sincerity as so endearing, but she’d changed my mind about a lot of things.

“Well. You did offer to help edit my fanfic. So, uh, maybe you could? I’m in the middle of one right now, but maybe for the next one?”

Her smile was gorgeous. I wanted to tell her more things that would make her smile like that. She could have whatever she wanted if only she’d smile at me like that.

“I would absolutely love that, Reid,” she said. “It would be my honor.”

“Good.”

Fuck, I wanted to kiss her. In between all the other shit I’d had buzzing around my head like angry bees, I’d been thinking about the kiss. If I ranked all the kisses I’d had in my life, that was at the top, easily. Sophie didn’t need me to teach her anything in that department.

“You’re staring at me,” she said, her voice singing a little bit.

“Am I?” I asked, even though I knew that I had been.

“Yup. You are.”

She’d leaned closer to me, enveloping me in that fruity sweet scent she had.

“Soph,” I said, my voice soft.

“Yes, Reid.”

I pressed my lips together and leaned away from her. “Bad idea.”

“What is?” she asked, her eyes wide and innocent.

“You know what.”

She just gave me a mischievous look.

“I think I should go,” I said, getting up.

She gazed up at me, biting her bottom lip before letting it go. “You don’t have to.”

I did. One of us needed to do the right thing. Sophie was too good for me.

“I do,” I said, and her face fell.

“Okay.”

“Thank you, though. For the cupcakes and listening and for everything you said. It means the world to have you next door, Soph.” I couldn’t say more or else I’d cave and walk back over and kiss her.

So I left.

I felt like shit when I shut the door and leaned against it. Why did I keep hurting her?

I let out a frustrated sound and tugged my hands through my hair.

Why did this all have to be so damn complicated? Why did I have to be so complicated? Weighed down by all this shit.

But if I reached for Sophie, I’d drag her down with me. I’d never be good enough.

Why did that hurt so fucking much? I’d cried for an hour in therapy today and yet there were tears on my cheeks. Again. Like I’d opened a dam and now I was nothing but raw emotions and tears and open wounds from the past.

I was a fucking wreck.

Sniffling and wiping my face, I got up off the floor (where I wanted to stay, to be honest) and went to take a shower. Getting in bed seemed like the wisest decision right now. Getting in bed with a book. There was a new release by one of my favorite authors that I’d been holding off on reading until I really needed it, and tonight was the night. This was a romance book emergency.

The book turned out to be a bunch of my favorite tropes and micro tropes all stuffed in a hilarious plot. This author always delivered.

I yawned as I finished a chapter and then heard a noise. A buzzing. A loud buzzing. And then I heard a moan.

What. The. Fuck.

It was Sophie.