Back If It's Only Love
Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Table of Contents
  3. Other Books by Lexi Ryan
  4. About If It’s Only Love
  5. Dedication
  6. Shay
  7. Part I.
  8. Shay
  9. Easton
  10. Shay
  11. Shay
  12. Part II.
  13. Shay
  14. Easton
  15. Shay
  16. Easton
  17. Shay
  18. Easton
  19. Part III.
  20. Shay
  21. Easton
  22. Shay
  23. Part IV.
  24. Shay
  25. Easton
  26. Shay
  27. Easton
  28. Shay
  29. Part V.
  30. Easton
  31. Shay
  32. Easton
  33. Shay
  34. Easton
  35. Shay
  36. Part VI.
  37. Easton
  38. Shay
  39. Shay
  40. Easton
  41. Shay
  42. Easton
  43. Part VII.
  44. Shay
  45. Part VIII.
  46. Easton
  47. Shay
  48. Easton
  49. Shay
  50. Part IX.
  51. Shay
  52. Easton
  53. Part X.
  54. Easton
  55. Easton
  56. Shay
  57. Shay
  58. Part XI.
  59. Shay
  60. Part XII.
  61. Shay
  62. Easton
  63. Shay
  64. Easton
  65. Shay
  66. Shay
  67. Easton
  68. Shay
  69. Easton
  70. Shay
  71. Shay
  72. Easton
  73. Easton
  74. Acknowledgments
  75. Contact
  76. Copyright Notice

“Now I risk getting you drunk if I make you do it the right way.”

“I’m not drunk.” I shake my head. “I don’t feel anything.”

He grunts. “Give it a minute.” He steps around me and stands at the counter, pouring himself another shot. I guess he’s not going to drink it from my glass this time. It’s dumb to be disappointed.

He doesn’t bother with the salt or lime, just throws it back. Doesn’t even grimace. Then he braces his arms on the counter and hangs his head.

I’d have to be emotionally stunted not to feel the change in his mood. He just went from playful flirt to morose jock in the span of a blink. “What’s wrong?”

He shrugs. “Nothing.”

“Liar.”

He drags a hand through his hair and finally turns to me. He leans back against the counter. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course.”

He hesitates a beat, and I see the emotions playing across his face—he’s trying to decide if he can trust me with this, or if he even wants to own up to whatever it is.

“I never told anyone when I caught you with that dirty magazine when you were thirteen.”

His eyes widen and he grins. “Oh, fuck. I’d completely forgotten about that. Jesus.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “Okay, fair enough. That kind of discretion so young is definitely meaningful.”

“Meaningful? Are you kidding me? That’s preteen blackmail gold, and I never used it. Not even when you wouldn’t dump that girl you took to senior prom.”

His forehead wrinkles, and I can tell he’s trying to remember his date.

“Hilary,” I remind him.

“I didn’t know you wanted me to dump her.”

“I didn’t realize I needed to spell it out for you. I told you she was a bitch and you deserved better.”

“Honestly, I was eighteen, and she was hot and willing. I probably didn’t care that she was a bitch.”

“She called me a fat tagalong.”

“What?” The tops of his ears turn pink—a tell I learned long ago means he’s angry. “You never told me that.”

I shrug. When Easton was with Hilary, I was fourteen. I’d foolishly believed that he wouldn’t notice I was fat if no one ever told him. Not the dumbest thing I’ve let myself believe in the name of loving him, but not a delusion I’m particularly proud of either.

“You’re not fat,” he says.

I fold my arms and arch a brow. “Come on, Easton. I might be naive and shamefully inexperienced for a girl my age, but my eyes work just fine.”

He holds up a finger. “One, so do mine, and you’re not fat. You’re not skinny. You have a nice body.”