still for long.
She moved to the sofa and sank onto one end, pulling a throw pillow into her lap and hugging it tightly.
But Bryan surprised her. He stayed standing—and paced.
There was a crutch, but honestly, that didn’t slow him a bit. And it took none of the tightly wound vitality away from the picture he presented.
She felt her body heat just from watching him move. As it had so often in her life. She’d become a baseball, basketball and football fan simply because Bryan played and she’d loved watching him. He was one of the best players on all the teams, no question, and it had seemed, even from a very young age—and to a very biased observer—that he was just made to move . It didn’t matter if he was jumping or twisting, shooting, throwing or swinging a bat, it was a beautiful sight that demonstrated all of the amazing things the human body was capable of.
But where he’d really shone was on the track. Bryan had run with a natural, powerful grace that was matched only by Ty Bennett’s. But Ty didn’t play other sports. He ran track, but during the off season he trained for triathlons by adding swimming and biking to his regimen. And Ty had never seemed to enjoy it all like Bryan did. Ty was all about being the best, about winning. Bryan seemed to do it just because he liked it and it felt good.
And now, even with a crutch under one arm, all of that natural athleticism was fully apparent.
Tess swallowed hard and tried to remember why she didn’t want to have sex with him.
Something about never recovering from it. Never leaving town. Something like that. But for a moment, she didn’t mind the idea of staying right here and looking at Bryan forever.
Okay. Right. That was the problem.
Her life could not revolve around Bryan. She needed to be independent, stop waiting, make things happen.
“Tell me what’s going on, Tess,” Bryan said, facing her from two feet in front of the sofa, only the short coffee table between them.
She pulled in a breath and nodded. “Okay. I’m not interested in a relationship with you.”
“Anymore,” he added.
So they were going to really rub in the fact that she’d been his number one admirer…forever. No. Not forever. She hadn’t known him until she was five. And she’d gotten over him two and a half years ago. “Yes, okay, anymore.”
“Which seems—and you said that you were okay with me using the word fuck, right?”
She gave him a seriously look, but nodded.
“Which seems pretty fucking crazy, everything considered,” he said.
“What is everything you’re considering?” Tess asked. “Besides the huge ego that won’t let you believe someone could get over you, of course.”
He narrowed his eyes. “ Considering that you’ve wanted a relationship with me as long as we’ve known each other, and now I’m here, living in the same town, and very much interested.”
She nodded. “Okay, well, the living-in-the-same-town thing would be okay if it wasn’t Sapphire Falls.”
He leaned on his crutch with a frown. “Why is that?”
“Because I don’t plan to be here for long.”
Bryan seemed to freeze at that. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m saving my money to leave. I love Sapphire Falls, but there’s a big wide world out there.” She paused. “There’s no better way to appreciate where you are than to see all the other places you could be.”
That was a quote. From Bryan. From his blog.
But if he recognized it, he didn’t give any indication. “Where is it that you want to go?” he asked.
“Denver.” It wasn’t like it was a secret . Okay, it was kind of a secret. She hadn’t told anyone because she didn’t know how long it would take for her to save the money, and she hadn’t known if she would get accepted into Jake’s program, and she didn’t really have a plan B. She also didn’t want to talk about how serious the running had become. It wouldn’t make sense to most people.
But it would to Bryan , a voice in her
She moved to the sofa and sank onto one end, pulling a throw pillow into her lap and hugging it tightly.
But Bryan surprised her. He stayed standing—and paced.
There was a crutch, but honestly, that didn’t slow him a bit. And it took none of the tightly wound vitality away from the picture he presented.
She felt her body heat just from watching him move. As it had so often in her life. She’d become a baseball, basketball and football fan simply because Bryan played and she’d loved watching him. He was one of the best players on all the teams, no question, and it had seemed, even from a very young age—and to a very biased observer—that he was just made to move . It didn’t matter if he was jumping or twisting, shooting, throwing or swinging a bat, it was a beautiful sight that demonstrated all of the amazing things the human body was capable of.
But where he’d really shone was on the track. Bryan had run with a natural, powerful grace that was matched only by Ty Bennett’s. But Ty didn’t play other sports. He ran track, but during the off season he trained for triathlons by adding swimming and biking to his regimen. And Ty had never seemed to enjoy it all like Bryan did. Ty was all about being the best, about winning. Bryan seemed to do it just because he liked it and it felt good.
And now, even with a crutch under one arm, all of that natural athleticism was fully apparent.
Tess swallowed hard and tried to remember why she didn’t want to have sex with him.
Something about never recovering from it. Never leaving town. Something like that. But for a moment, she didn’t mind the idea of staying right here and looking at Bryan forever.
Okay. Right. That was the problem.
Her life could not revolve around Bryan. She needed to be independent, stop waiting, make things happen.
“Tell me what’s going on, Tess,” Bryan said, facing her from two feet in front of the sofa, only the short coffee table between them.
She pulled in a breath and nodded. “Okay. I’m not interested in a relationship with you.”
“Anymore,” he added.
So they were going to really rub in the fact that she’d been his number one admirer…forever. No. Not forever. She hadn’t known him until she was five. And she’d gotten over him two and a half years ago. “Yes, okay, anymore.”
“Which seems—and you said that you were okay with me using the word fuck, right?”
She gave him a seriously look, but nodded.
“Which seems pretty fucking crazy, everything considered,” he said.
“What is everything you’re considering?” Tess asked. “Besides the huge ego that won’t let you believe someone could get over you, of course.”
He narrowed his eyes. “ Considering that you’ve wanted a relationship with me as long as we’ve known each other, and now I’m here, living in the same town, and very much interested.”
She nodded. “Okay, well, the living-in-the-same-town thing would be okay if it wasn’t Sapphire Falls.”
He leaned on his crutch with a frown. “Why is that?”
“Because I don’t plan to be here for long.”
Bryan seemed to freeze at that. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m saving my money to leave. I love Sapphire Falls, but there’s a big wide world out there.” She paused. “There’s no better way to appreciate where you are than to see all the other places you could be.”
That was a quote. From Bryan. From his blog.
But if he recognized it, he didn’t give any indication. “Where is it that you want to go?” he asked.
“Denver.” It wasn’t like it was a secret . Okay, it was kind of a secret. She hadn’t told anyone because she didn’t know how long it would take for her to save the money, and she hadn’t known if she would get accepted into Jake’s program, and she didn’t really have a plan B. She also didn’t want to talk about how serious the running had become. It wouldn’t make sense to most people.
But it would to Bryan , a voice in her
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