Page 44 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man
“I don’t know. Getting hurt? What if six months down the line, he realizes he wants biological children? Or he wants a woman who can share his firsts—first marriage, first home, first child to raise. What if after a year—”
Wells cut me off. “Jesus, Alex. You’re lucky I’m here and you’re there because if I was standing next to you, listening to you ramble about ridiculous shit like you are, I’d Joan Crawford bitch-slap you across the face to smack some sense into you.”
“But—”
Wells held up a hand. “No buts… We’ve been best friends since we were what, eight years old? Have I ever steered you wrong?”
“Except for the shoulder pads you told me looked great in my prom dress? No.”
“I still think you looked fabulous. It’s not my fault the girls at our school had no taste and decided to dress like hookers. But forget that. Have I ever steered you wrong in relationship advice? You had to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince of a husband, and I always knew who was a toad and who had potential before you, didn’t I?”
Wells did have an uncanny ability to see the truth in the men I went out with. In fact, he’d told me I should marry Richard after our very first date.
“No.” I sighed again. “You’ve never steered me wrong.”
Wells smiled. “I am pretty great, aren’t I?”
“Let’s get back to me, egomaniac.”
“Fine. Let me ask you something simple. How are you going to feel when this volunteer project ends if you never see Brayden again? Do you think you’ll be sad? Wonder what would’ve happened if you’d taken a chance?”
I didn’t have to think very long. “I would wonder.”
“Then here’s my advice, Kitten. Stop worrying about whether you can marry this guy, and go have fun. Take it one step at a time. You only live once. You can get over trying something that doesn’t work out—I promise you that. But you never get over the regret you have from the things you didn’t try. Tomorrow you could get hit by a Mack truck and then what? You die without having enjoyed that hot man’s dick.”
The last part made me smile. But I supposed Wells was right. I mean, there were risks to any relationship, weren’t there? A guy my own age could break my heart just the same as a younger one, even if the reasons were different.
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”
“That’s my girl. Now go jump that man and call me in the morning to thank me.”
I smiled. “Thanks for letting me interrupt your night.”
“This wasn’t an interruption. It was a divine dick intervention.”
“Enjoy the rest of your night, guys.”
Wells held the phone out and curtsied. “Later, Kitten.”
After I swiped to end the call, a weight lifted off my shoulders. I still wasn’t sure if Brayden was right for me in the long term, but I was determined all over again to focus on the right now instead.
I thought about texting Brayden, telling him about my change of heart. But I’d been so hot and cold, and he deserved better than that. So I got dressed, swiped a little mascara on since I’d already washed off my makeup, and headed over to his room.
When I got to his door, my courage wobbled a bit. But this was exactly what I wasn’t going to do anymore. Overanalyze. I liked Brayden and wanted to spend time with him. Simple as that. So I took a deep breath and knocked.
Brayden opened the door with no shirt on. My jaw dropped.
He smiled, clearly recognizing the effect he had on me, and grabbed the top of the door. The pose accentuated the curve of his bulging biceps, the cuts in his six-pack abs, the deep V carved into his waist. My eyes couldn’t stop jumping around, unsure what to focus on first.
Brayden lifted a brow. “See something you like?”
Of course, the cocky jerk couldn’t give me a free pass. I rolled my eyes. “I like you a lot better when you’re humble.”
“Really? ’Cause you seem to like me a whole lot half naked...”
“You know, you’re making what I came here for harder.”
“Trust me, you make it hard for me too.” He chuckled. “Would you like to come in?”