I wanted to see my girl. My girl. I liked the way the words sounded. Letting her go was impossible. Hell, staying away from her for a few hours sounded like torture. I wasn’t going to make until this afternoon. Rolling over, I inhaled her scent in the sheets before getting out of bed. I went to grab my shirt and decided I was going to leave that here. I wanted her sleeping in my shirts. The other one was going to have to go.

Getting a shower was important, then I was going to find her. I knew when her classes were today, and if I missed her at the college, I would head over to the church. The piece of notebook paper taped to the door caught my attention.

Krit,

Good morning. You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you. Thanks for staying with me last night. You’re surprisingly very comfortable. Do you still want me to come to Live Bay tonight? If not, it’s okay. I know I caused a lot of problems last night. I did enjoy it though. Thanks for taking me. Hope you slept well.

Blythe

Did I still want her to come? Chuckling, I shook my head. It was time I cleared some things up. It was my fault that she was so confused. I hadn’t been clear with her, and I hadn’t been sure this was what was best for her. I knew now it didn’t matter anymore. She was what fixed me. With her I wasn’t broken.

A redhead wearing Green’s T-shirt was standing in the kitchen drinking a glass of orange juice when I opened the door. I glanced around, and Green wasn’t anywhere. Fantastic. He hadn’t gotten rid of his one-nighter.

Her eyes lit up when she saw me, and then her gaze fell to my chest. I wasn’t in the mood for this. I wanted to go find Blythe.

I didn’t say anything as I headed for Green’s room and banged on the door. Then I opened it. A blonde was still wrapped up in the sheets and curled around his back. “Get up. Get ’em out. There’s one drinking my juice,” I barked.

Green lifted his head with one eye open and scowled. “What time is it?”

“After ten. Get them out before she eats my shit,” I said, then flipped on his light.

A string of curses came from Green and the girl in there with him as I headed back to my bathroom.

“Turn off my light, you fucker!” he called out.

“Don’t push me. I still plan on beating your ass,” I replied back before slamming the door behind me.

* * *

The girls were gone by the time I’d showered and dressed. Green glared at me as he sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee in his hand. His hair was sticking up all over the place, and he had only managed to pull on a pair of sweatpants.

“You came home in a bad mood,” Green grumbled.

“No. I came home to get ready and go see my girl. I didn’t like seeing some strange chick drinking my damn juice.”

“Your girl? Something happen last night?” he asked.

“Not what you’re thinking, and that’s not your fucking business,” I snapped. I didn’t like him thinking about Blythe and sex in the same sentence. It was some insane caveman shit that had taken over me, but I couldn’t control it or tap it down.

“What am I thinking?” Green asked, a confused expression on his face.

I headed for the door. He was being a dick on purpose, and I didn’t have time to beat his ass. I didn’t want to miss Blythe before she left school and went to work.

“Krit,” Green called out. The way he’d said my name made me pause.

“Yeah?” I asked, glancing back at him.

His eyes were big, and he had sat up straight. The disbelief on his face had left his jaw hanging slightly open. “You,” he said, and shook his head as his eyes studied me like I was some strange creature from outer space. “You haven’t . . . Y’all haven’t . . . had sex?”

I dropped my hand from the doorknob and took one step toward him and stopped myself. Controlling my possessiveness was going to be a challenge. “Don’t,” I warned. “Don’t even think about Blythe and sex in the same sentence.” The barely controlled fury in my voice wasn’t something he missed, but his stupid-ass expression didn’t change.

“You . . . holy fucking hell. I’ve heard it all. Never in my life.” He started laughing.

The motherfucker had started laughing.

“You’re already acting like an insane obsessed man protecting some precious jewel! At least warn the rest of us once you do the deed because I might move out. You get any more possessive of that girl, and people are going to be scared to breathe the same air as her.”

“Shut up!” I snarled. I didn’t need to hear this. He was making me sound fucked up.

His expression sobered, and concern flashed in his eyes. “Just remember your issues. Don’t do something stupid. You’ve always dealt with being off a little with your addictions, but I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I’m fine!” I growled.

“Just don’t kill anyone. Right now you look ready to take out any man who gets too close to her. You can’t be that way. She wants you. Hell, man, I’m pretty sure she loves you. I ain’t ever seen a girl jump in front of guy trying to protect him like she did. Remind yourself that she wants you. Not someone else. Don’t fucking end up doing life because someone touched her and you broke his neck.”

Chapter Seventeen

BLYTHE

Although I had been late for my first class, I hadn’t missed much. The professor had been late too. In my second class, Principles of Macroeconomics, we had had to listen to a lecture on fiscal policy. I had almost fallen asleep.

Grabbing my backpack, I swung it over my shoulder and started for the door as soon the professor dismissed us.

“Blythe. Right?”

I paused. Someone had said my name. I hadn’t spoken to anyone in any of my classes. I turned around to see that the owner of the feminine Southern drawl was a striking redhead with breathtaking green eyes. Her hair was long, but she had it pulled over her shoulder in a low ponytail. The Bon Jovi T-shirt she was wearing looked like it was vintage.

“Uh, yeah,” I replied.

Her smile was one of those that shouldn’t be attractive because it was so big, but somehow it fit her and made her even more of a head-turner. Two guys had actually just walked by and looked her way. She seemed oblivious, though.

She held out her hand for me to shake. “I’m Low Hardy. Trisha and Rock are really good friends of mine. And Amanda is my sister-in-law. I saw you at Daisy May’s party, but I had just walked inside when you were defending Krit and then leaving.”

I shook her hand and felt a small little bubble of excitement that someone knew me. Had I made enough connections in town that people were starting to actually know who I was? The idea that I was fitting in for the first time in my life was thrilling.

“It’s nice to meet you, Low. Sorry, I didn’t get to meet you at the party. I wasn’t, uh, well, I was learning. Friendship with Krit is a learn-as-you-go thing,” I explained.

She studied me for a moment with a pleased smile on her face. “I can only imagine,” she replied.

The urge to defend him rose up in me again, and I had to shove it down. She was agreeing with me, not attacking him.

“You going to lunch?” she asked. “I normally head home right after class because I hate leaving Eli with a sitter too long, but today his daddy is home with him so I have a little time.”

We walked out together, and I glanced down at my phone. “I have to be at work in twenty minutes. It’s a ten-minute drive, so I can’t today. I would like to sometime, though,” I told her. She reminded me of Trisha. There was no judgment in her eyes, and she wasn’t sizing me up. She just accepted me and wanted to get to know me.

“I’ll see if Marcus can stay home one day next week. Or better yet, you can come back to my place after class and have grilled cheeses with me and Eli,” she said, smiling.

Eli had to be her son. She didn’t look old enough to be a mom. I started to respond. but the words fell away when my eyes locked on the tall beautiful man leaning against my car with his arms crossed over his chest and his sunglasses covering his blue eyes.

“Oh, looks like you got a visitor,” Low said.

Krit dropped his arms, and I stood there and watched as he made his way over to me. His long legs were in a pair of faded jeans, but his muscular thighs could be seen through the snug fit as he walked. This was what a swagger looked like. It was something not many men could do, but when Krit walked, girls stopped and watched. I couldn’t even get mad at them. He was impossible not to look at.

Krit’s eyes stayed on me as he wrapped an arm around my waist, making me want to melt after that performance. “Hello, Low,” he said, glancing over at her with a smile. Then he turned back to me. “Hey, love.”

He called females love. I had heard him do it before, and he had called me that before he even knew me. But something about the way he said it to me now, the way his voice dropped when it curled around the word, meant more. Or maybe it was my wishful thinking.

“Hey,” I replied, knowing that I was staring up at him like I was completely mesmerized. I couldn’t help that. though. I was.

“It was nice meeting you, Blythe. We’ll do that lunch next week. I’ll see you later,” Low said, reminding me that she was still there.

I jerked myself out of the Krit haze I was under, and turned back to her. “Oh, yes, I look forward to it. And it was nice meeting you, too.”

Low’s grin was one that was both pleased and knowing. She wasn’t making fun of me for being so obvious about my feelings for Krit. It made me like her even more.