Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
I hang up and drive away. It feels like it takes forever to get back to Metropolis. I practically run to our unit. “Ev?” I call when I step inside. I go to his room first, then mine, but it’s obvious he’s not here. My heart goes crazy as worry floods my veins. What the fuck was I thinking? He’s already nervous enough about the pup play, it already makes him feel weird, and when my fucking mom sees him, I yell at him and then walk out without an explanation.
I fumble my phone before managing to call Derek. “Hey, hottie,” he answers.
“Is Ev with you?” I ask. “If he is, I won’t interrupt. I just want him to know I’m not mad at him.”
“Um. No, he’s not with me, and what the hell did you do?”
“I fucked up.” My hand tightens on the phone as I pace the room. “Shit.” The last thing I want is to make him feel like Peter did, like his parents did, that any part of him is weird or wrong. It’s not. Pup Runt isn’t either.
“What the fuck? You’re not supposed to hurt him!” Derek says.
“You think I don’t know that? Just…just tell him to call me if you see him. I gotta go.” I hang up before he can say anything else. I try Hayden next, then Gary, and neither of them has seen Evan. Gary says he and Travis will help look.
I head straight for the door, not sure where I’m going to look but know I have to look somewhere. There’s a part of me that knows he’s fine. He’s grown. He knows how to take care of himself, but I also know him. He would have seen how I acted earlier as a rejection, that I was embarrassed and rejecting him for who he was, this part of him that he’s chosen to share with me.
Fire burns through my gut, making me feel no better than Peter or his parents.
It’s nearly impossible to stay still as I ride the elevator down. Where the fuck are you, Ev?
The elevator doors open and there he is, my pup, on the other side looking at me, worry and fear, but also strength in his eyes.
“Come here,” I tell him, opening my arms. He comes to me, steps right into my grasp, letting me wrap my arms around him. The doors close, and I manage to hit the button for our floor before I rub up and down his back.
“I’m sorry, Frankie. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know she would come back with you and when I saw her, I just froze. I’d had a bad day and—”
“Shh.” I pull away and put my finger to his lips. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? I need to make sure you understand that before I say anything else.”
He looks up at me and nods.
“I’m the one who’s sorry.” The elevator doors slide open. I take his hand and say, “Come on.”
When we’re back in our unit, I tell him, “I need to text the guys and let them know I found you.” Which I do, quickly, before tossing my phone aside.
“You told them?” he asks.
“Not everything. I just told them I fucked up and needed to find you. They were going to help.”
He gets a shy grin on his face and I know that even after all this time, it still amazes him that he has so many people who care about him. “We all love you, Ev. Of course, we’re going to worry about you. When are you going to see how fucking incredible you are? How fucking loved you are?” I cup his cheek, brushing my thumb across his smooth skin. “I love you.”
He sucks in a short, sharp gasp. “I—”
“Shh,” I tell him again. “That’s not how I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t help it, and you’re so damn cute when you’re shocked. I’ll tell you again in a few minutes and if you feel the same, you can say it back, then. We’ll pretend it’s the first time.”
He chuckles. “I don’t think I can forget it, and I love you too.”
My heart nearly jumps out of my chest. “Cheater.”
“If we can pretend it’s the first time you say it, we can pretend it’s the first time I say it too.”
“Yeah.” I brush my thumb across his cheek again. “We can.” Christ, those words, hearing them from him do something to my heart. Make me feel like I’m fucking floating and I’m not even embarrassed about that shit. “Come here.” Grabbing his hand again, I tug him over to the couch, and sit down. Evan tries to sit next to me, but I pull him to my lap, let him straddle me because I love the feel of him on top of me.