13. Bridgette #2
Dutton just shrugs. “Ok, then that’s his problem. This has been the best week of my life, Bridgette. And yeah, that sounds crazy, but I’m not giving up on us because your brother has beef with me.”
My heart rejoices at his words, but my brain knows they don’t compute. “It’s a little more than beef.”
“Answer me this,” he says, tucking an errant lock of hair behind my ear. “If my name were…I don’t know, say…Dustin, for example…would you still be my girlfriend?”
My brain is on overload, so I just blurt out the first thing that pops into my head. “I’m not. I mean…we haven’t officially had that conversation.”
He levels me with a look. “Are you seeing anyone else? Sharing your bed with anyone else? Fucking thinking about anyone else, even for a damn second? Because I’m not. I haven’t been since I laid eyes on you.”
I shake my head. “No,” I answer.
The fingers on his right hand toy with my hair while his left hand trails gently over my jaw, neck, and collarbone. It’s almost as though he knows I need his touch to stay grounded.
“So the only reason you’re freaking out is because I’m Dickhead?”
“Yes,” I say, worry seeping into my voice. It might be the only reason, but it’s still a pretty damn big one.
“I’m gonna be honest with you,” he says, taking a breath.
“Your brother’s not wrong. I am kind of a dickhead to him.
Guess I need to work on that, because you like me, Bridgette.
And I like you. A lot. And I only like about five people in the world, so…
yeah. Don’t give up on us, okay? It’s all going to work out.
We’ll tell your brother, and he’ll flip his shit, and then we’ll all be laughing about this at Thanksgiving dinner. ”
Out of all the things Dutton has said to me tonight, the words Thanksgiving dinner hit me the hardest. That’s more than two months away.
The fact that he thinks we’ll be together by then is almost as crazy as the fact that he thinks Bran will ever laugh about this.
I know what I have to do. I have to break things off.
I can’t betray Bran this way, and that’s exactly how he would see the situation, as a betrayal.
I’m going to have to force myself to pull away from him one more time and put my fingers on the door handle.
A minute from now, I could be halfway down the block.
But I can’t force myself to move. Ending things with Dutton is the right thing to do, but some selfish part of my brain is telling me to stay put and stop being such a fool.
Dutton Wagner’s picking me. He’s choosing me.
I’m not a consolation prize. To him, I am the prize.
And that’s not something I’m used to feeling.
He cups my cheek again. “Tell me you’re not about to bolt. I can see the battle raging in your head. Tell me you’re willing to give us a shot, Bridgette.”
“Okay,” I agree, because I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself if I walked away from whatever is happening between Dutton and me. But I also know Bran would never forgive me if he knew where I am right now, and who I’m with. “But there’s one condition. Bran can’t find out.”
“What? Why?” he asks, pulling his hand back as though he’s been stung.
“Because he won’t understand. And trust me when I say he’s the best brother I could ever ask for. There have been times in my life when he’s been the only person in my corner, the only one cheering me on, the only one who believed in me. I can’t hurt him. He doesn’t deserve that.”.
“He’ll get over it,” Dutton insists. “He’s not a child. And if he can’t get over it, if he chooses his beef with me over his support for you, then he deserves every nasty name I've ever called him.
“It’s not like that,” I say, shaking my head.
“You don’t get it. The way we grew up…I’m not going to get into it now, but I owe Bran everything.
He protected me. I don’t have it in me to hurt him, but I don’t have it in me to walk away from you, either.
The only solution is to keep it quiet for now.
Besides, this thing between us, it’s so new.
Let’s just give it some time. Who knows?
Maybe this will fizzle out as quickly as it began.
Maybe we’ll get tired of each other in a few days. ”
“Not likely,” he scoffs. “I get tired of people within five minutes or not at all.”
“Well, maybe I’ll get tired of you.” I’m aiming to tease him and lighten the mood, but I miss the mark by a mile, and I feel like a jerk when I see his lips curve downward into a frown.
“Most people would be amazed you’ve put up with me for this long,” he says.
I scowl. “ I’m not ‘putting up with you’. I like you. A lot. But it’s still so new. Let’s just see where this goes. If it becomes something, then we’ll tell him. How does that sound?” I ask.
“I guess I just don’t get it,” he admits. “What’s the worst that can happen? He gets mad? Let him throw a tantrum. I’m not the kind of guy who hides the woman I'm with.”
Damn Dutton Wagner. I’d be swooning if I weren't brainstorming ways to convince him to conceal our relationship, at least to start. I decide to be honest.
“Please?” I ask. “I just need a little time.”
For a full thirty seconds, I’m not a hundred percent sure what his answer is going to be.
But then he reaches for me. “Fuck me. I’m incapable of saying no to you, so I guess we’ll keep things quiet for now.
The minute you’re ready to go public, just say the word.
I’ll claim you so damn fast, Bridgette. I won't hesitate to let anyone know you’re mine and I’m yours. ”