Beg You to Trust Me (Lindon U #2)(96)

It’ll be quieter in here.

We can just talk.

You’re so fucking beautiful.

You like that, don’t you?

Hands on my hips.

Hands pulling down my leggings.

Hands tugging off my panties.

Heavy body.

Heavy mind.

Do you want this?

Trapped thoughts.

“Skylar?”

Nothing.

“Skylar, baby?”

You’ll love this, I promise.

Hands cup my cheeks before a new face comes into focus above me. It’s only then, with Danny hovering above me looking panicked, that I realize I’m crying.

“Did I hurt you? I shou—”

To my horror, I start sobbing.

“Christ, I’m sorry.” He pulls me into his arms, our chests crushed together. “Shh, baby. I’m so sorry. Tell me what I did. If I was too rough—”

“I-It’s not you.” My voice is unrecognizably broken, heart shattering piece by tiny piece in my chest. I cling to him like he’s my lifeline to forget everything else trying to grab ahold of my brain. “It wasn’t you. I wish it was you. I wish it had been you,” I say into his neck, sniffing back the tears that keep leaking from my eyes.

His palm strokes my spine in comfort as he drops his head to peck my shoulder. “Oh, Sky. You have no idea how much I wish the same thing. No fucking idea. Let it out, baby. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

I’m okay, I force myself to repeat.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

I hiccup.

Am I?





CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO





DANNY





Thanksgiving break flies by and the ride back to Lindon U, this time in my precious Jeep Wrangler, is spent listening to a playlist and watching the mixture of suburb, city, and rural sceneries pass by.

I don’t push the girl riding in the passenger seat to share what’s on her mind. She stares out the window, her thumbnail in her mouth nearly the whole three plus hours we’re on the road.

She helped Ma with the late holiday lunch, making idle conversation about where she grew up, what her family is like, and how close she is with her sister Serena. There’s no indication of what happened between us after we had sex. I stayed the night with her, door locked, with her in my arms from nightfall to sunrise. She twitched from who knows what, looking empty when she awoke from whatever memory stirred her from sleep. Because I know asking her is pointless, I pretended to sleep so I didn’t set myself up for disappointment.

My hands grip the steering wheel as I see the Lindon sign in the distance. “Did you let your family know we were on our way back?” I ask when I can’t handle the silence anymore.

Fingers turning the volume dial down, I glance at her drawing her feet up to the edge of the seat so her knees press against her chest. Her head rests against the window. “Yeah, they know. I spoke to my mom this morning when I was packing. Serenity was with her at some new clothing boutique they found.”

I loosen my hold on the wheel and settle into the seat. “Sounds nice. Did they have a good holiday? You said your parents went on a cruise, right?”

She hums. “I guess my dad got food poisoning, so their trip wasn’t great. They ended up cutting it short once they got to the Bahamas.”

“Is he doing better?”

“Yeah.”

One word responses.

Not a fan.

“Skylar—”

“I’m sorry,” she blurts, turning to me and looking nervous. I’m stunned speechless for a couple seconds, giving her time to keep talking while trying to figure out my silence. “I ruined things back at your house. We shouldn’t have done that there. Your family must have known because they gave me weird looks—”

“Sky,” I stop her, reaching over and taking her hand. I drag it between us and hold it tight. “I don’t want you to apologize for what happened. I’m not sorry at all. For any of it. You’ve been through so much that I wish I could help you get past. I hope I can do that. One day at a time. One experience at a time. Just stay with me.”

Her eyes water, making me wish I was in a safe place to pull off the side of the road and comfort her.

Instead, I squeeze her hand to let her know I’m here and not letting go. “What do you need from me? I’ll do anything, just please don’t cry. That damn near ended me knowing I couldn’t do shit to make it better.”

Her head shakes as she stares at our hands. “You’ve already done so much. I’ve taken up so much of your time and you never complain. You watch the stupid movies I like and read my cheesy romances and indulge in my peanut butter addiction—” That one makes me chuckle because she really does have an obsession. I made sure Ma picked up a jar of her favorite kind to have at the house. “Whenever you’re not busting your butt at practice or cramming for classes, you’re with me. And you French braid really well which makes me sort of jealous. I’m surprised you aren’t sick of me yet. Especially because I haven’t been very…open to doing more until recently.”

Is that what she thinks I want her around for? “Blondie, I never wanted our dynamic to be about sex. I like our friendship. I like that we can just chill and watch movies or read or study. When I’m exhausted from playing the last thing I want to do is try getting it up. That’s the truth. I like the pace we’ve set, and if you want to pull back on that, I’m cool with that too. Whatever you want, babe.”