Release Read online Aly Martinez

Categories Genre: Angst, Contemporary, Romance Tags Authors: Aly Martinez Advertisement1

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My mouth gaped. I didn’t want to remember the way she’d looked that night. But knowing that Thea was a badass who wasn’t hiding anymore made an unlikely laugh bubble from my throat. God, I was proud of that girl.

Nora laughed too. “It was hands down the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. His old man got it removed the next morning, but it was incredible while it lasted.”

I bet it was incredible. It made sense. Thea was incredible.

Nora and I chitchatted about everything and nothing for the next hour. A sense of peace washed over me as I watched her walk out that day.

I’d done the right thing. I could feel it coursing through me, icing the lava in my veins.

Everyone was finally moving on with their lives.

Nora was doing well. She still cried sometimes, but it was progress. She was going to college to become a teacher and had her whole life ahead of her.

Thea was traveling. If it wasn’t already douchecanoe Kyle Martin, she’d eventually start dating someone else. And that was a good thing.

I was dying a little more each day.

But they were okay.

Me: He chewed the gum! I repeat he chewed the gum.

Nora: Duh. It was gum and it was Ramsey. He probably still has a piece hidden in his mouth. Tell him to open up so you can check…with your tongue.

Me: I’m thinking we are still a long way from tongue cavity searches. He basically told me that he never loved me, that he was only a teenager trying to get laid, and I needed to get the hell over it because I was insane to still be pining over my high school boyfriend.

Nora: Oh. My. God. He did not say that to you.

Me: Oh, he absolutely did. That was the abridged version though. The full version had a lot more F-bombs.

Nora: Please tell me you didn’t fall apart.

Me: Nope. I took your advice, told him that I still loved him and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to get my best friend back, and then I made him a rasher of bacon, a plate of maple sausage, and a southwest omelet. Oh, while I’m thinking about it, there is a rasher of bacon, a plate of maple sausage, and a southwest omelet in the fridge if you’re hungry later.

Nora: Jeez, he’s a stubborn one.

Me: He snuck a piece of bacon when he thought I wasn’t looking, so I’ll chalk it up to a victory.

Nora: Did you get him to his parole officer on time?

Me: Yep. I’m chilling in the car, checking some last-minute flight prices, and waiting for him to finish up.

Nora: Flights for you or for a client?

Me: Client. You know I’ve got three years before I’m flying anywhere again.

Nora: I know. Just making sure that hasn’t changed in the last twenty-four hours.

Me: It didn’t change for twelve years, it’s sure as hell not going to change in twenty-four hours.

Nora: That’s my girl. Give him hell, wildcat.

Me: Lol. So what are you really doing today?

Nora: Sitting in Starbucks, in the middle of the day, doing not a damn thing while my kids are probably running around the classroom like a bunch of wild banshees and bringing a substitute teacher to her knees. It’s glorious. Truly glorious.

Me: You love those wild banshees though. Even the snotty nose one who always wipes it on your pants. Ten bucks says you’ve actually been sitting there stressing about them instead of enjoying your day off.

Nora: Witchcraft! Get out of my head and go babysit my brother.

I laughed and clicked back to the flights. I was in a much better place mentally and emotionally after my late-night chat with Nora.

I’d come into this expecting a war, yet at the first sign of trouble, I’d been ready to lie down and die. Ramsey wasn’t the only one who was overwhelmed. I’d had high—and yes, slightly delusional—hopes about finally being able to press play on my life again. But just because Ramsey wasn’t behind bars didn’t mean I had him back.

We’d get there though. Losing him again wasn’t an option.

Nora had been right. I had been a miserable drip once and Ramsey had won me over. I could do the same. I hadn’t yet perfected the smile the way he had when we were kids. Though after seeing the way Ramsey’s muscles had strained against the confines of that plain cotton tee that morning, I wasn’t having a lot of childlike feelings toward him at all.

God, he had grown into a gorgeous man. I’d seen pictures of him that Nora had snapped during holiday visits at the prison, but seeing him in person was an entirely different experience. From his shoulders all the way down to his hips, his body was formed of sharp angles and contoured planes that a camera couldn’t possibly do justice. He’d always been taller than me, but he was bigger now, rugged and purely masculine. When we were younger, Ramsey didn’t have much. Jeans, T-shirts, and boots were his high school uniform. But the way he filled them out now, using them to enhance his body rather than simply covering his nakedness… God, it was sexy.


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