Page 75 of The Recovery Coach
She looked between Hazy, Lover, and Jake.She chewed her bottom lip, a habit that would make her bleed if she didn’t knock it off.He kept his hands to himself instead of using his thumb to drag it out of her mouth.
“Do you need to join them?”she asked Jake.
Jake shook his head.“I had an earlier schedule.I’m done for the day.”
Livy lit up as if he’d handed her the world.
“Do you have plans?”
“Not a single one.”
“Wanna get coffee?”
“I’d love that.”
Lover grinned and placed a kiss on Livy’s cheek.“That’ll be fun for you guys!”He abandoned Hazy to handle the situation alone.
Hazy, terrified he’d be losing even more of Livy’s time to Jake, said, “Don’t forget we have plans tonight.”
Livy glared at him, still standing close to Jake, their arms grazing.Would it be asinine if he shoved his way between them?
“Our plan is to make stir-fry and watch a movie.We can start later.I’d like to catch up with Jake.”
His grip on his jealousy slipped.“You sure?”
A divot formed between Livy’s eyebrows, and she huffed.“Yeah…Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”Even to his own ears, Hazy didn’t sound fine.“I’ll see you at home then?”
Livy asked Jake, “Can you drive me home?”
Hazy gritted his teeth when Jake said, “Yeah, sounds great.I’ll shower real quick, then we can go.”
“Then yeah, I’ll see you at home,” Livy answered Hazy’s question.
Hazy didn’t storm out, but in his head, he stomped his way to the weight room.What the actual fuck was wrong with him?Livy having more friends in the area was agoodthing.He needed to get this possessive, controlling version of himself under control.
Hazy felt better after his workout.Being with his team had been exactly what he needed.Lover followed him to the grocery store and then home afterward, and he’d expected to find Livy waiting for them, but she was still out.Disappointment made his shoulders droop.
He dropped a bag of groceries on the counter.Lover washed his hands, then rifled through the bag, pulling out ingredients.They played some music and diced chicken and veggies.
“So,” Hazy said, unsure about the boundaries of this conversation.They’d always been open books, but prying into Lover’s relationship seemed like an invasion of privacy.
“So,” Lover said.
Then they both seemed to realize the stiffness of their voices, and they laughed.
“Fuck, man,” Hazy said, tears rolling down his cheeks.They were born of laughter, but also from repressing all his pent-up frustration.
“You’re allowed to ask how it’s going,” Lover said.“You’ve been cranky as fuck.None of us want that.I know you’re dying to talk about it.Ask what you want to ask.”
“I know I’m allowed to ask,” Hazy said.“I’m more concerned if you say something I don’t like, I’ll have to murder you.”
“Wow, not even going to pretend you’d take my side then, huh?”
Hazy abandoned his knife and turned his full attention to Lover.
“Is there a reason I need to take sides?”
