Page 112 of Bend

“You’ve been building up to it for months.”

“See, this is why I don’t talk to you.”

“Sure.”

He looks far too relaxed for someone currently making my head a complete mess. Blue swim shorts, white beach shirt hanging open, tattoos cutting across his chest and stomach. Pieces of his Lakota lineage inked into his skin like they’ve always belonged there.

The wind carries salt, smoke from the fire, and that cedar scent that always clings to him.

Annoying, really.

Even more annoying that he looks at me like he’s got all night.

I scuff my foot through the wet sand. “I’ve spent most of my life thinking I knew what I was meant to want.”

Wolfe nods once. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I look out at the water. “Thought I knew what everyone expected. What I was supposed to be like. Then you came along and well, you fucked that right up.”

He lets out a quiet laugh. “You’re welcome.”

I look at him. “You’re a right cocky prick, you know that.”

“Maybe, but you like me.”

“Unfortunately.”

His smile softens, but he doesn’t push. Just stands there beside me, close enough that the edge of his shirt brushes my arm when the wind catches it.

Then he says something under his breath.

“Čhaŋtét’iŋs.”

I glance over. “What’s that mean?”

“Have courage.”

I huff out a laugh. “You calling me a coward on your birthday?”

“No.” His shoulder bumps mine. “I’m saying some things are worth being brave for.”

That wipes the grin off my face.

He says it casually, still looking out at the water, like he hasn’t just reached into my chest and got hold of the exact thing I’ve been trying not to name.

We start walking without either of us saying anything about it, drifting farther down the beach until the sand turns cool and firm beneath our feet. The surf rolls in around our ankles, then pulls back again.

“Bit dramatic, innit?” I mutter.

Wolfe smiles. “You’re the one who came down here at sunset, on my birthday, to confess your feelings.”

“Was considering it,” I say, cutting him a look. “But you’re getting far too smug about this and not making it bloody easy, so maybe I won’t bother doing one after all.”

“Nah, don’t bottle it now. Keep going.”

Cocky bastard.

“Girls were easy,” I say, dragging my foot through the edge of the surf. “I could flirt, have a bit of fun, and no one expected it to mean anything after.”