Read #Heart (Hashtag #6) for Free Online Page A

here. What had possessed me to step into the doorway while he was training?
    I turned to hurry back to my room, but his voice stopped me.
    “You gonna come in or just stand there and watch?”
    I froze like I’d been caught doing something illegal. How had he known I was there? His back was to me.
    I swung back around with a sheepish grin on my lips. “Sorry, I—”
    He looked over his shoulder, pausing in the squats and lifts, and winked. Straightening, he swung toward the rack of weights and set the ones down he’d been holding. I was still in the doorway when he snagged up a water and poured half of it down his throat.
    “What’s the matter, Ivy?” he asked, his tone knowing.
    “I’m worried about Braeden,” I rushed out. I felt my eyes widen, surprised even by my own words, though I didn’t know why.
    I was worried. So worried I couldn’t sleep.
    “And I was just thinking… and I ended up here,” I added, a little bewildered.
    Romeo’s eyes, which had narrowed when I first spoke, softened now and a small smile played on his lips. “You can talk to me anytime.”
    I nodded and walked farther into the room. Now that I admitted out loud (and to myself) that I needed to talk, it seemed only natural it was Romeo I came to. It seemed completely normal the very strength that intimidated me was what drew me this morning.
    He snagged a nearby towel and used it to mop up some of the sweat on his face and chest. Before I’d fallen for Braeden, it would have been natural to check out Romeo, especially when he was standing in front of me half dressed. I mean, honestly, I used to check him out all the time when he was fully clothed and walking around campus.
    Now that just seemed wrong.
    Sure, Romeo had an awesome body. But he was family, and he wasn’t Braeden.
    “What’s going on with B?” he asked when I said nothing.
    I hesitated, wondering how much to say, wondering if B would be upset when he found out I’d gone to Romeo about his dreams.
    “Are you scared of me, Ivy?” Romeo’s question cut into my inner debate.
    “What?” I gasped.
    He gave me a knowing look. “You seem kinda scared to be in here right now.”
    I felt my shoulders slump. I was acting ridiculous. Why did I feel so afraid to talk to him? Why was I so intimidated by him? Romeo had been nothing but good to me. Great, even. Clearly, deep down, I knew I could go to him because I was standing here… so why was I having such a hard time opening up?
    “Braeden’s gonna be really mad if he finds out I’ve come to you.”
    Romeo seemed to think about my words. Then he dropped down on a nearby weight bench. “I don’t think this is about B.”
    I started to tell him this was exactly about B, but he held up his hand. “I don’t mean what you want to talk about. I mean the reason for it. You need to talk to someone about B and about whatever’s going on inside you . And I think you know I’m the guy for that talk.”
    I nodded. “It’s just… we’ve never really talked like this…” My words faded away.
    He tilted his head to the side. “Maybe not. But I think you and I have had a lot of conversations without saying anything.”
    I thought back to the times he would make sure I was okay to drive home from a party, about how he would measure me with his stare, and I would let him see I was really more sober than most realized. I thought about the night he came into my room and held me after a nightmare, how he barely said two words to me, but his presence was more than enough. I remembered how he sat beside me in the hospital after that car crash that killed Zach. We’d been the only two in the room, Romeo finally having persuaded B to take a shower. We hadn’t talked about what happened that night. But he’d held my hand, and I’d cried silent tears.
    I’d felt better after that cry.
    In a way, words from Romeo weren’t necessary. He knew how to be there for a girl without them.
    He was right. This was about me. About me