Drift by Amanda Bentley

Author:Amanda Bentley [Bentley, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amanda Bentley Books LLC
Published: 2022-09-17T16:00:00+00:00

“She’s home, I’ll hop back on later.”

I wipe my feet off on the welcome mat before locking the door and looking towards Zander. He removes his headphones and places them next to his gaming console before walking over to me. I lean in to give him a light kiss, and while he lets me place it on his lips, he doesn’t return the sentiment.

“Were you waiting for me?” I ask, pulling back and looking into his cooled eyes. He averts his gaze and nods towards the staircase.

“Let’s talk upstairs.”

Extremely confused, I take off my shoes and leave them at the foot of the stairs before following him up. The soft, albeit old, carpet tickles my bare feet. I get to the landing as he enters our room, and I get an ominous feeling.

Zander sits on his side of the bed so I climb onto my side, sitting cross-legged and facing him. I watch him in silence, waiting for him to say something. He lays back and stares up at the ceiling.

As I open my mouth to speak, he says, “I talked to Jace.”

I wait again. Nothing. “Okay…”

“I had more time to think about this crush.”

My heart sinks and the guilt that’s been intermittently bubbling at the surface splashes out. Panic overtakes me so suddenly that I speak without thinking. “I don’t even know why I brought it up. It’s nothing.”

He looks over at me, and his eyebrows pinch together ever so slightly. “I really didn’t think so before. But when you left…”

I say nothing, waiting with bated breath. All I can think to myself is please, no. I don’t want to fuck this up. We’re so set up. We’re comfortable. We love each other. I don’t want things to change.

“When I got back from my parents', I started gaming with Jace and it was nagging at me. When I talked to Jace about it, I realized why.”

When he doesn’t continue, I ask, “Why?”

“You didn’t call me.”

I'm confused at first, thinking he meant when I left for lunch with my mom. But then I realize he’s referring to last night. I didn’t call him for a ride.

“You always reach out to me to be there for you. And you definitely would have texted me to tell me Jack was at the bar.” He’s absolutely correct. “Why didn’t you, Marlie?”

He looks straight at me now. His eyes penetrate mine, shaking me to my core. I’ve never seen him look so solemn.

“Because… I felt bad waking you up,” I say weakly. It's bullshit and we both know it. That hadn’t stopped me in the past.

“Did you want to be with him?”

I think back. “That’s not what I thought in the moment. I just… I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“Maybe you were thinking more clearly than you realize.”

“Zander, I–” I hear the plea in my voice. “I swear, I don’t mean it.”

You sure about that?

I stomp on that voice and return Zander's deep stare. He’s looking into my soul for the truth. I’m not sure what he finds, but I force that voice down with everything in me.

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