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blanket, grabbing me.
    “Come here,” he said, tossing me around the bed so that I was wrapped in his arms.
    Mmmm . I liked this, but I probably shouldn’t get used to it. He was Beck. He wasn’t available. He belonged to someone else. He was my brother’s best friend.
    “Stop thinking, Riles. That wheel is running marathons in your brain. I can actually hear it,” he joked with his ear resting on my head.
    “Yeah, well, for someone with such impeccable hearing, you didn’t hear your phone buzzing for the last half hour.”
    He shot up from our cozy cuddling position to grab his phone from the nightstand and check the display. “Shit!” His fingers flew through his hair and then he banged his head purposely against the headboard.
    “What?” I asked, like I didn’t already know the answer to my question.
    “She’s been calling since last night. She’s probably worried sick and—”
    “Fucking pissed. I know I’d be.” Reality was crashing in and I had to make like I didn’t care. Even if I felt like the green-eyed monster and the other woman, both rolled into one.
    He stood up from the bed, searching for his clothes.
    “Over there.” I pointed to the chair in the corner of the room. “And the rest is downstairs.”
    After he’d pulled on his boxers and T-shirt from last night, he came to sit next to me on the bed.
    I couldn’t help feeling so cheap at that moment. The room still smelled of hot sex and he was about to tell me all the things a cheater was supposed to say the morning after a night like ours. Like: please don’t tell anyone; it was just a mistake; I never thought it would go that far; it was the alcohol talking.
    What I didn’t expect was what he actually did say: “Riles. Last night was—” He paused to scratch his head and take a deep breath. “Last night one of the best nights of my life, and I’m not just talking about the sex, babe,” he winked and smiled, melting away the insecurities for a moment. “I don’t want to talk about her with you, but you should know Marissa and I are on a break.”
    And then the insecurities were back. I pulled away from him, immediately thinking I was some rebound or a form of revenge. He must have sensed my fears, because he inched closer, cupping my face in his hands.
    “I know what you’re thinking and it’s not like that. We have a lot to think about, but right now,” he looked at his phone, shaking his head. “Right now, I have to deal with her. Can I call you later?”
    I reached up to hold his warm hand in place at my cheek. It was a comforting show of affection from him and I didn’t want it to end. “I’d love it if you’d call me later.”
    I could have said more, and maybe I should have. Maybe I should’ve let him off the hook and told him there was no way we could ever be anything other than two friends who had a little fun. I couldn’t see this playing out any other way, but in that moment, I really wanted to hold on to the possibility of more.
     

     
    “Fallon, answer your damn phone, you ass! Great news! My dry spell is officially O-V-E-R!”
    I’d tried calling him at least ten times, and it just kept ringing with no answer. This was the first voicemail, and he wasn’t the best at checking those. Fallon was notorious for having a bit too much fun on the weekends and going MIA for most of it.
    I really needed to talk to him. Who else was I going to tell about what happened with Beck? I couldn’t exactly keep everything I was feeling to myself. I might combust!
    There was only one other person who would hopefully understand. Tessa. But I had no intention of calling her and asking permission to come over for some girl time. She’d given me a key for emergencies. This was certainly an emergency.
    By the time I’d driven to her neighborhood and replayed my night with Beck over and over again in my head, I was starting to weigh all the repercussions. I was already in too deep, already feeling things I shouldn’t