“Nate, it’s been three years. I’ve changed. Matured.” I take a breath. Weigh my words. “I’d never hurt you like that again.” He opens his mouth to argue, but I speak over him. “I didn’t realize what I had back then, but I know now, and I want it back. I want us back.”

I take a step forward and put my hand on his. Some of the tension drains out of his body.

“Look, I won’t pretend like I’ve got it all figured out because I don’t, okay? But the one thing I do know is that not having you in my life scares me even more. It’s been...so...it’s just not the same without you.” I pause, digging deeper to find the right words. I need him to understand. “I know I’m going to have to earn your trust back. I’m not asking for you to come around overnight. I’ll do the work. I’ll do whatever I have to. All I’m asking is...all I want is a second chance. Even if I don’t deserve it.”

I stop and take a breath. I’m very aware of my breathing in this moment. Of his. I haven’t felt him this close to me in so long. I want to feel his lips on mine and his hands rough on my skin as he moves inside me. I want us to go back to the way we used to be, when everything in my world was perfect. Everything.

I can’t hold back anymore. I take another step, pushing into him with my hips. He hesitates. Freezes. Long enough for my hand to make it to the tuck of his towel. He catches it just before it drops, holding that terry-cloth barrier between us.

“Nate, remember when we were alone at my father’s party? When Brandi was talking to my father?” I pause, thinking about the moment. “What if you never brought her?” I lean in and kiss his neck, feel his throat against my lips.

He jerks back. “Stop.”

“Don’t tell me this is about her.” I stare at him hard. “She murdered my father.”

He frowns. “I don’t believe that shit. She’s not a murderer. Maybe she was sleeping with him, but she didn’t fucking kill anybody.”

He sounds so certain, but I can see the doubt in his eyes.

I sigh. “She did. She’s mental. She’s got you brainwashed.”

He shakes his head so hard, I wouldn’t be surprised to stumble across a headline tomorrow morning about a mysterious tectonic shift somewhere on the planet. “We were together that whole night.”

I roll my eyes. “She obviously did it before she came back to your place. The glasses were laced. She didn’t have to be there at the exact time my father drank from them.”