Page 88 of Rust
I lowered my voice. “Don’t you feel guilty, Isabelle? Do you have any idea how much this would hurt your dad?”
“A little bit, sure.” She sighed. “And I hate that. But I like you, Rust. Should I not listen to my heart just because someone I love might get hurt? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’dsuckto hurt Dad … but it’s not like we’re doing this to intentionally hurt him.” She snuggled up close to me. The weight of her head and her silky hair on my bare chest felt so fucking perfect and right. “We’re doing it because we like each other.”
I found myself nodding along. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“And if you really think about it, it’s the same deal as my OnlyFans situation, right? I’m not telling Dad about that until I feel ready, just like you said. Likewise, wedon’t have to tell Dad anything about us untilwefeel ready. We’re both adults. What we do is our business.” She paused. “Ifwe feel ready to tell him. Because who knows. Maybe one day you’ll wake up and decide you don’t like me anymore. Then that’ll be it; you can walk away and Dad never has to know about us.”
“Yeah. Right. As ifthat’dhappen.” I tutted and stroked her cheek. “Let’s be real, Isabelle. We both know how this really ends.”
“Oh, we do?” She looked amused. “Tell me. How?”
I possessively squeezed her body into mine and muttered, “With you leaving me for someone your own age.”
“Oh, I very much doubt that. You’re kind of a catch, Rust.” She giggled and squeezed at my bicep with her little hand. “It’d be pretty hard to meet a guy my age who’s got more going for him than a professional hockey player.”
Those words brought my palm to my forehead with awhack. “Fuck, I just remembered something.”
“What?”
“I need you to do me a favor.”
“I’ll do anything for you, Rust.”
“I need you to go on a date with Cale Cotton.”
Her face puckered. “Um …why?”
“A date with you was the only way I could be sure he wouldn’t run around blabbing about an OnlyFans star taking pictures in my house.”
“So you bribed him with a date with me? What if I don’t wantto?”
“Idon’t want you to, either,” I snarled, jealously gnashing my teeth. “What if you end up liking him more than you like me?”
She shook her head with conviction. “Won’t happen.”
“How do you know? He likes you, you know. He’s your age and he has a bright future. Really, he’s who youshouldbe with.”
“Don’t say that,” she said, her brow furrowing. “I don’t want him, I want you. Trust me.”
“Sorry,” I said. I hesitated. “Trust isn’t easy for me, Isabelle.”
“I get it. I’m scared too, especially knowing all the things that could go wrong. It’s scary knowing someone can break your heart.”
I gulped. “Yeah.”
“But I’m not your ex-wife, Rust.”
I leaned back. “Hm?”
“Well, she cheated on you, didn’t she? Isn’t that why you got divorced?”
“So Johnny told you, eh,” I grumbled. “Look, the truth is, that’s only half the story.”
“What’s the other half?”
I let out a guilty exhale. “I cheated on her, too.”
“Rust!” She gasped and leaned back, as if she couldn’t trust me. “I don’t like hearing that atall.”