All the Wrong Choices by C.A. Harms

Chapter Nineteen

Jonah

“She’s had a tough day,”Addison blocks the path to the door that leads out onto her patio. Her hand is pressing into the center of my chest. I look to the left to see Tony lounging back on the couch. He is no help. “She doesn’t need anything more piled on top of what she’s already faced.”

“I was mad, okay. And hurt.” I know I’m not getting anywhere near Dani if I don’t appease Addison first. “I just needed a little time to get over it.”

And to accept that I may never get anything more with her than sex.

“You have feelings for her.” It isn’t a question, and I don’t deny it. I don’t look toward Tony because I know he already knows the truth behind her statement.

“Can I go see her now?” I hold the box beneath my arm, waiting for my approval to pass.

“She’ll come around,” I’m surprised by Addison’s words, and the spark of hope they inflict is dangerous, I know. It’s a setback to my acceptance of never genuinely having all of Dani the way I want her.

When Addison lowers her hand and moves out of my way, I walk toward the door and quietly slide it open. It never fails. Every single time I see Danielle, I feel like she’s knocked me on my ass all over again. Legs for miles, and the perfect curves in all the right places. Her back remains to me, and I assume she thinks it’s Addi joining her.

Removing the lid off the box, I step in behind her, and she flinches when she looks back over her shoulder at me, surprise in her eyes. She glances down at the box in front of her, and when she laughs, I feel the tension leave my body. “For the next time, you decide to take off on a five-mile hike in heels.”

The box holds a pair of Nikes, white with a small amount of blue on them.

“What makes you think there will be a next time?”

I ignore the ping of annoyance in my chest. “Dani, I know this thing between us is all you can give, but it doesn’t mean you can’t stay over or me with you. All it means is we had a really good time, and we were too tired to get up and go home. We don’t have to slap a label on anything, and we don’t have to panic that things are getting more complicated than they truly are.”

I can see she is considering my words.

“We can be friends too. I know how to separate the two.”

“I know,” she nods, turning her body to face mine.

“God damn,” I groan when I see the front of her dress. Resting my head on her shoulder, I feel her body vibrate with laughter.

“What?”

Low cut, the swells of her tits completely visible and inviting.

“You know what,” pressing a kiss to her collarbone, I breathe her in, and finally, after days, I feel settled, and that alone should terrify me that I end this entire thing and never look back. My problem is I can’t. To be honest, I’ve tried. After I woke up to find she had left that morning, I thought it’s time to cut ties and move on. I know I’m getting in deeper than I should, and in the end, I’ll be the one hurt, but then the longer I stayed away, the worse I felt.

When she combs her fingers through my hair, I shift my head so that I can see her face. I’m well aware in our current embrace it’s well above being just the casual hookup, but if she’s going to allow it to happen, I’m a greedy SOB, and I’m going to take it and run.

I notice her eyes are puffy, and immediately I remember what Addison said about her having a bad day. She looks exhausted yet still stunning. “I thought me and my crazy had scared you off.”

“Not a chance,” I wish I could tell her just how limited of a possibility that is.

“You can talk to me about anything.” I wish she would. Maybe she’ll get over the fear and the hurt she has if she’d talk about it. Perhaps I’ll be able to convince her.

“You coming here tonight, was it planned or—”

“Tony,” the guy is on my side for sure. Even though he told me I was chasing my tail when it came to Dani, he still has my back. He sent me a message that she was going to be here. “He was with me when I bought the shoes.”

“Great,” she mumbles, which only makes me chuckle.

“Come on,” I stand tall, “let’s go inside.”

Hooking my arm over her shoulders, I lead her inside to join everyone else. I ignore the curious looks of Addison and the other girl. Now everyone in the room besides Danielle knew I wanted more from Dani. I hope they keep it to themselves, at least until she’s ready to hear it.

I sit down and clear a space for Dani to sit beside me. When she doesn’t hesitate, it isn’t only me that seems surprised by her lack of hesitance. I hope this means she and I have crossed over the line between awkward and comfortable.

* * *

“What is that?”I immediately lift my hand and place it over the side of my neck where my sister seems to be pointing.

“What’s what?”

Slapping my hand away, she leans in closer, and once again, I try to feel if it’s a bug or something I can swat away.

“Oh my God, Jonah,” her mouth gapes open. “Aren’t you too old for hickey’s?”

“I do not have a hickey,” Frantically, I jump up and find the nearest mirror. Twisting to look at my neck, I hear my sister and mom both laugh from behind me. Looking back, I glare at both of them.

“No, you don’t,” Avery crosses her arms over her chest, giving me a knowing look. “But the fact you freaked out so easily means there is a possibility you could have had one. So, who’s the girl?”

“There is no girl.”

“Liar,” my mother pipes in, and I feel like the two women in my family are attacking me. Two very nosy and pushy women. “From what Tony says, you’ve got a liking for a high school teacher who is friends with his girlfriend.”

I’m going to kill Tony. He could share news of Dani with any one else and get no reaction, but with my sister, it was like opening up the floodgates. I’m going to kill him.

My father steps into the hallway and immediately stops, looking over his entire family as if we’ve lost our minds. Frankly, I’m not sure Avery and my mom haven’t. “Can you call off the dating police, please?”

“Don’t look at me,” he chuckles as he walks past. “If they’re nagging you, they aren’t nagging me.”

I spent the last several hours being hassled for more information I refused to provide. I wouldn’t even drop Dani’s name because my mom has friends who will indeed find her the information she is desperate to know.

Opening up Dani to my sister will be a disaster, but adding in my mom, well, she’ll run like her ass is on fire without looking back.

“Don’t worry, Mom,” Avery pushes past, walking in the direction of the kitchen with a smirk on her face. “I’ll get the information we need from Anthony.”

Narrowing my eyes at her, she seems completely unfazed. I know I need to get to Tony first. The bastard will rat me out in a hurry if Avery gets a hold of him. He is my weak link when it comes to the ladies in this house. He’s grown up around them, and they know his weak spots.

My mom and sister are great at drilling away at the men in this family until we cave and give in. Tony is no exception. He is the one who seems to yield the quickest and easiest.