Page 52 of Reckless Obsession

I don’t know where he got that from.

“He’ll be fine,” I say after a while, my tone even, like I can will it into truth if I sound certain enough. “He always is.”

Jamie glances at me, something searching in his expression, like he’s trying to figure out if I believe that or if I’m just saying it because it’s easier than admitting anything else.

“You sound as if you’re trying to convince yourself,” he mutters.

A quiet breath leaves me, something close to a dry laugh but not quite.

“Maybe I am.”

He huffs softly at that, but the tension doesn’t fully leave him. It lingers in the way his jaw tightens slightly, in the way his fingers tap once against his knee before going still again.

“He just… doesn’t know when to stop,” Jamie says. “He goes too far. With everything.”

“I know,” I answer, and this time there’s no edge to it or deflection, just the truth.

Because I do know.

Jamie nods slowly, like he’s accepting that answer for what it is, even if it doesn’t make him feel any better. The silence that follows is heavier now, but not uncomfortable. Just full. Full of things neither of us is saying out loud.

Then a voice cuts through it.

“Yo, Jamie!”

One of his teammates calls from across the lot, waving him over. A few others linger behind him, already laughing, the sound carrying easily through the cool evening air.

Jamie glances over his shoulder, then back at me, the shift almost immediate as he pulls himself out of whatever weight had settled on him.

“That’s my cue.” He says, pushing himself up from the bench.

“Go,” I tell him, giving a small nod. “Celebrate. You earned it.”

A grin breaks across his face at that, bright and easy, like the earlier conversation didn’t leave its mark. Or maybe it did, and this is just how he chooses to carry it.

“Don’t disappear on me, yeah?” he says.

I raise a brow slightly. “I don’t disappear.”

He snorts. “Yeah, sure.”

He steps forward, then pauses just long enough to bump his fist lightly against mine.

“Love you, man.”

The words come so easily to him. No hesitation. No second-guessing.

I meet his fist, returning the gesture just as naturally. “Yeah. I know.”

He rolls his eyes at that, but he’s smiling as he turns away, jogging back toward his team, his energy slipping right back into place like it never left.

I watch him go for a moment longer than I need to. Then I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. The screen lights up, casting a faint glow against my palm as I unlock it, my thumb moving almost on instinct as I open my messages.

Maksim.

His name sits there, exactly where it always does. Persistent and Unavoidable.

I tap on it.