Page 102 of Blitz

“Well, I got jealous and freaked out. So I didn’t say anything.”

“She’s in high school.” He sounds disgusted. “How could you think that Mack and I…” He shudders. “No, Mason, I was not dating my friend’s younger sister. I wasn’t dating anyone.”

“I know that now.” I chew on my lip. “I don’t want you to date anyone else. I only want you to date me.”

He sighs. “It’s not that simple, sunshine.”

“It is, though.” I approach him, and when he doesn’t flinch, I set my hands on his hips. Slowly he meets my eye. “I love you. You love me. We’re both going to try some counseling. We’ll grow together. It won’t be easy, but we can work through this. I believe in us.”

Tucker swallows. “I—I believe in us, too. And I know that I can’t let you break my heart all over again. I can’t give you that power anymore.”

“You have that same power over me, King. You always have.” I step closer, my hands tightening on his hips. “You’ve always held my heart in your hands.”

Pain clouds his eyes. “Mason…”

“This isn’t going to be easy,” I tell him. “There isn’t some magical cure. But I think we can work past this. We both want to be together. We need to get out of our own way and just fucking be together.”

He lets out a heavy sigh. He slumps against the door, bowing his head. “I—I can’t.”

“Why not?” I run my thumb across his cheek, and he automatically nuzzles into the contact before he remembers he’s not supposed to anymore. He turns away. “Tuck, it’s just me. You can talk to me.”

“I’ve spent my entire adolescent life in love with you, Mason.” His eyes meet mine, brown and soulful. “You’re all I’ve ever known. What if I’m settling? What if—”

I swallow. “If you want to date other people…”

“I don’t, though. That’s the thing. I don’t want to date other people. I only want to be with you.”

“So what’s the problem?”

He sighs. “I thought I was sure. I thought I knew what I wanted.”

“And now you don’t?”

“I’m so confused.” His head bows. “I want to be with you, I do, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

“Because…”

“Because of everything. Our past. The sex. I just—” He takes a deep breath, then another. His hands curl into fists.

“What’s wrong?”

“I really want a fucking peanut butter sandwich right now,” he mutters, shaking his head. “I know I shouldn’t, but I do.”

“That’s why I brought it. I can make you—”

“No. I don’t need it. Thank you. I want it, but I don’t need it.”

“I need you.” The words are quiet in the stillness of the room. “I know I’m supposed to stand on my own two feet, I’m supposed to be a strong and capable woman who don’t need no man, but Tucker, I need you in my life. I want to spend my life with you. We don’t have to go out and party all the time. We don’t need to stay in all the time. There’s a happy medium here. We can both get what we need out of this.”

He swallows, his eyes slowly rising to meet mine.

“I have a lot of work to do,” he says. “Therapy is—”

“I know. We both have to put in the work, separately and together.” I step closer, so his broad belly brushes against my flat one, our toes touching. “I’m trying, Tuck. All I can do is try.”

He lets out a blustery sigh. “Mase…”

I rise up onto my tiptoes. Slowly, I brush my lips against his. “King.”