{18+ COLLEGE ROMANCE COMPLETED}
What sucks more than being rejected by the girl of your dreams? Finding out afterward that she's moving in with you.
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The night that Beau Martin spends with Collins Bryant is the best one of his life. He wants to...
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I WATCHED COLLINS WALK back into the house, feeling...stripped. Standing in the moonlight, I was bare.
I'd exposed every little bit of me in the past twenty-four hours, and it should have been freeing. I should feel...I don't know, unburdened.
But none of it had been my choice. My freedom had been soured because I took so goddamn long to let go of a few stupid secrets. And now, there were bits of Collins that were out of reach.
She loved me. But I wasn't going to hear those words until I got all of her back.
I was going to get Collins back.
With a deep sigh, I walked back into the house and tried not to immediately wring Cato's neck. He didn't do anything—actually, he was damn near passed out on the couch—but I couldn't even look at him without wanting to kick his ass off a cliff. Luckily, there was one just outside. Maybe I could drag him out there. Give him a lil shove.
I hovered near the door, watching my mom talk to Collins in hushed tones over the kitchen counter. Bouncing indecisively on the balls of my feet, I curled my hands into fists.
I wanted in. I wanted in that little club they had going on over there. I tried to get Collins to open up about dealing with the Baileys for months, and my mom got her to do it in ten minutes? This was bullshit, honestly.
But relieving, too.
I didn't need to be the one to fix Collins' problems. She had that wrong about me. I never wanted to be a superhero. I didn't need that attention, didn't need that feeling. Just needed her. And if Mama Martin knew what to do to free my girl, then she could be my fucking guest and get it done.
I should have called her. I should have called her a long time ago. But I thought inviting my mom to meddle in Collins' business would have only upset her more.
Too late now. She was here. And to my surprise, it was because of Cato.
"I'm sorry."
So the motherfucker was alive, huh?
Turning to my brother, I narrowed my eyes. "For what part?"
He evaded my glare. "All of it, I guess."
I snorted and walked over to sink into the couch beside him. "I'm gonna need more than that."
"For being so stubborn," he grumbled. "For scaring Collins. For asking so much from you without giving anything in return."
Sincerity laced his words, and I frowned. "You're serious?"
His eyes rolled up. "Yeah, I'm fucking serious. There's something about putting your brother in a near-death experience that really puts things into perspective."
"I don't really think it was near-death." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "We got out just fine."
"The house is ash, Beau." He straightened himself. "And I knew our relationship would be too if I didn't fucking do something about it."
