Page 106 of Detour

“What do you think about the offer?”

“Honestly?” He nods, watching me closely. “It sounds great, but-”

“Then we’ll figure it out,” cutting me off, Coty continues, “together.”

My lungs fill with more air than necessary.

“Can I think about it?”

A loose smile breaks free. “Of course.” He gestures over his shoulder. “I gotta go anyway. You’ll be here when I get back?”

“I might go to the library for a bit, otherwise I’ll be here.”

Coty reaches into his pocket and pulling out his keys, removes one, then hands it to me. “Make yourself at home. Use whatever you need. I’ll see you later.”

With a quick kiss goodbye, he joins the others and they peel out, leaving me alone with my thoughts, and decisions, and sweaty bra.

Walking into the boys’ apartment, I spot empty coffee mugs littering the counter. The reminder of Faye heavy on my mind, I decide to call her myself about the barista job.

The adrenaline from today’s events begins to fade, its absence making room for the panic at my current situation. If they’re serious about their proposition, then I’ll need something to hold me over until this new endeavor is a viable reality. I won’t wait around in the meantime. Sharks don’t stop when they’re tired and neither will I.

* * *

“Like what you see, Tom?” I crack an eye to see Coty standing on his balcony, grinning without an ounce of shame at being caught.

“Tom?”

“Peeping Tom,” Beckett guffaws as he and Marc join him.

Coty smiles at his roommates then looks back to me, his humor suddenly gone. In the next instant he’s up and over the railing—on the second level—then dropping to the ground and landing on his feet like a frickin’ cat.

I scramble up from the lounge chair I’ve been glued to for the last hour. After taking things into my own hands and calling the coffee stand owner, she hired me over the phone. I ran right over to fill out all the necessary paperwork before she could change her mind and I’ve been hanging here for the boys to return ever since.

“Holy shit. Is that how you guys always get down so fast?”

“Maybe. Only for things that are really important though.” He shrugs as he takes my vacated seat, pulling me into his lap.

“Things, huh?”

His lips trace the shell of my ear, tugging on a piercing he finds there. “People,” he whispers. “Person. Specifically, my girlfriend.”

I pull away as he travels down my neck. “Is that what I am?”

Coty’s breath blows over my bare shoulder making my skin pebble. “We can use whatever term you want, as long as you’re mine. And before you ask, yes, I’m yours. Have been since I laid eyes on you, babe. My beautifully broken neighbor girl.”

I scoff just as his teeth make an appearance at the base of my neck. Batting him away, I sit forward to face him.

“And you want to be attached to this mess?”

Coty’s face grows serious and his hands grip my thighs, rubbing soothing circles with his thumbs.

“We’re all broken in some way or another. That’s what binds us together, finding someone you trust enough to protect the pieces that need it most. I can’t promise you perfect ‘cause I’m not perfect. I can’t promise you easy ‘cause it won’t be. But I can promise to be here for you through it all no matter what, loving you in any way you’ll allow me for as long as I’m breathing. Whether that makes you my girlfriend or not is up to you, but my feelings remain the same. I see your wreckage and want to fix my own just so I can be the armor yours is missing. I love you, Angela.”

His intense gaze never breaks even as mine grows blurry. The L word was tossed around earlier but this is different. There’s no mistaking his intent this time. Coty loves me. The boy that taught me how to live is now showing me what it is to love. As much as my mind rejects the notion, my heart decides it’s time to take control for once.

I lean my forehead against his and whisper, “I’m not making any promises either but I fell for you, I fell so damn hard I’m still waiting for the ground to catch up with me and that scares me, so much. I trust you to hold my many, many broken pieces safely while I find my way though.”

“Find our way.”