Page 77 of Reckless Love

OMG. Don’t go out of the house with one unless you want to getmobbed!

I chuckled, feeling lighter already and bought my ticket.

My flight leftat 6:50 AM and I landed in Denver at 9:22 AM with nothing but my backpack. I convinced the Uber driver to stop by a florist so I could get a bouquet of flowers and since he liked the Dolphins, he agreed to take me to Elle’s place too. I tipped him well, signed his shirt, and he vowed to be a fan for life.

I hoped Elle would be happy to see me. I’d have to leave the next afternoon to make it home in time to sleep a little and play the next night, but it’d be worth it to see Elle’s face.

When I knocked on her door, there was no answer. I glanced at my watch; it was already after 10:30. Highly possible that she’d already gone to the bookstore, her favorite place in the world. It wasn’t far from here.

It didn’t even take ten minutes to walk there.

But I saw her before I made it that far. I always seemed to sense when she was near. As I approached a restaurant, the patio overflowing with people talking and laughing outside, I scanned the tables.

There she was. Beautiful. Her hair was pulled back with a red scarf and it blew in the breeze. She looked serious and then nodded and smiled when the guy from the pictures the night before reached out and took her hand.

Maybe it was nothing. Maybe he was just a friend and this wasn’t the beginning of a new relationship at all, but I didn’t think I was up for sticking around to find out. Not today anyway.

I tossed the flowers in the trash, went back to the airport, and got an earlier flight home.

Once I got over myself, I felt like an idiotfor leaving. She’d said what she wanted from me from day one. I was the one who kept wanting to rewrite things.

I texted her a few days later and made a point to call at least once a week. Things felt better between us and I could tell we were both trying harder to make each other a priority.

I needed to just be happy to be her friend.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

MORNING HOURS

RHODES

Now

“I cameto see you in Denver once…that time after we fought, when you called me from the Uber.” I stroked her arm and she leaned her chin on my chest.

“You did? When? Why didn’tI see you?”

We were naked in my bed. It was about four in the morning and we’d had sex four times. Each time was the best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.

“I felt so bad about the things I’d said…for the distance between us. So I booked a flight, arrived around 9 or so the next morning. Got to your place and realized you weren't there. I walked over to the bookstore because that’s what you’d said you’d be doing that day, and on my way there, I saw you with that guy.”

“What guy?”

I look at her to see if she's serious and she is.

“The guy that we argued about that night. He had been in your stories and hanging around in pictures before then. You were at a restaurant with him, sitting outside.”

“Oh, Jeffrey,” she said. “That’s right. Well, what did you do? Why didn't you say something?”

“I saw him take your hand, and I just thought I better leave before I said or did something else I’d regret.”

“So you left without seeing me?” she says in shock. “I can't believe that.”

“I know. As soon as I did, I felt so stupid that I’d missed a chance to see you. I knew that even if you were with the guy, you'd still ditch everything and hang out with me.”

She swats my chest but laughs. “You're right. I would have. You must have not stuck around long enough to see him try to kiss me…and for me to pull away and tell him, no, I wasn't into him that way.”

I laughed. “Uh, yeah, I did miss that. Fuck.”