Page 118 of The Score We Never Settled

At least he told you this time.

“Layla Jean,” he drawls as he approaches his truck. “I thought I told you to get some sleep.”

“Why?” I shoot back angrily. “So you could slip out in the middle of the night and not be here in the morning?”

I follow him as he tosses his backpack in the backseat and shuts the door.

Then he turns to meet me head-on. “I can’t say goodbye to you, alright? I don’t want to see you cry again.”

“Who said anything about cryin’? I was plannin’ a party, and now I have the wrong date.”

His face lifts because he knows damn well I was not, but I’m being a smartass. “Cute.”

“You can’t keep doing this,” I argue. “It’s not fair, and it certainly isn’t how people do things like this.”

“I’m not people. And nothing about this is fair, Short Stop. Leavin’ you behind is hard enough for me, so maybe I was doing us both a favor in not makin’ this suck any more than it does.”

“And how were you going to break the news to me? Was I going to have to show up here again?—”

“I was going to text you on the plane before it took off. I didn’t do this to upset you. It’s just…fuckin’ hard.”

It is.

But I still hate that he was going to leave without saying goodbye to me. That I wasn’t going to, at least, hug him goodbye and give him all the positive vibes for when he goes back.

“Go home,” he commands me. “I’ll call you when I land.”

“No.”

His brows collapse together. “Layla, there’s no point in you getting worked up about it?—”

“Seems like you’re gettin’ more worked up than I am.”

He bores daggers into me with a glare. “Fine. It’s hard for me. Now, go home.”

“Say goodbye to me first.”

Briggs immediately moves forward and cups my arm, gently guiding me around the front of his truck and back to my car, but then I move my butt in front of the door handle so he can’t just shove me inside.

“Layla,” he warns. “Quit fuckin’ around.”

“Say goodbye.”

His fingers wrap around the back of my neck, and he drags me forward before his lips plummet and crash wildly into mine.

Briggs doesn’t allow me a breath as he kisses me with a primitive nature that has me clutching onto the waistband of his jeans.

I want so much for the moment never to end; however, I know he has a job to do, and I’m fully aware he’ll do it well.

It’s the little sneak-offs that I’m not going to tolerate anymore moving forward.

His tongue lashes out to taste me and tangle up with my own as he pushes my spine against the cool metal of my car.

And then it’s game over after that.

I begin unbuckling his jeans while he shoves the cotton material of my sweatpants down my ass. His cock springs free within seconds once I get it past the opening of his boxers, and that’s when Briggs breaks the kiss and spins me around.

Moving me to the side, he bends me over the hood, and then, without hesitation, thrusts himself inside me.