Taste of Commitment (Whisky and Risky #2)

31. Knox

Knox

I’ve been sitting on my couch, staring at my own reflection in the black TV for what feels like an eternity. I tried to talk to Taylor yesterday, but after waiting downstairs in the common room all day, my dad finally sent me away like a stray dog. Sitting in my living room, waiting for her to be ready to talk feels like a spiked, weighted hammer bouncing around my chest. It’s painful and brutal and agonizing all at the same time.

My front door creaks open, and I quickly comb my hands through my hair, jumping to my feet. My face lifts and then falls just as quickly when Taylor doesn’t walk through my door, but my own personal cheer squad does instead.

Liam carries a six-pack under each arm while Dax holds the door open.

“Did you know you have a cat out here on your porch?” he asks before closing it. I ignore the pain in my chest at the mention of the cat and fall back onto my couch.

“What are you two doing here?”

“It’s the first time no one has heard from you in a day since you’ve been back, you didn’t think we were going to let you wallow in your little Disney cottage by yourself, did ya?” Liam asks, sticking the bottle cap between his teeth and prying it open.

“Who the fuck said I was wallowing?”

They share a glance and then look down at me. “Ryder,” they say in unison before sitting on the other side of the sectional.

I snatch one of the beers up and pop the top on the edge of the coffee table before throwing back half the contents of the bottle.

“Alright, mate, is the elephant in the room about your new coaching gig or Taylor?” Dax asks, but I don’t answer. “Right. I’m going to assume it’s about Taylor then, mostly because I don’t even want to get into you leaving again.” I bring the bottle to my mouth and take another deep swig. “What’s the deal, KB?”

My thumbnail digs into the label around my bottle for a minute before I give up on the silent treatment. “We were talking about her staying longer, but after the coaching position bomb that was dropped the other night,” I throw a pointed glance at Liam, and he holds his hands up in defense. Rationally, I know he didn’t do anything, and none of this is his fault. I just want to blame someone other than myself for a second. I set the bottle on the table and drop my face to my hands with a groan. “I think she got scared.”

“Did she say she’s not staying anymore?” Liam asks.

“She hasn’t said anything. That’s the problem. She won’t talk to me, and I don’t know where her head is.”

“Listen, mate, we all love having Taylor here.” I whip my head to him with a furrowed brow. “Relax, Tarzan. No one is trying to hone in on your girl. Fuck, you’re sensitive today.”

“I think what the eejit means.” Dax shoves Liam back into the couch. “Is whether she likes it or not, she’s one of us now. She fits in like family, and none of us want her to leave.”

Selfishly I’ve wanted her to say for me, to have more time with her, and because I couldn’t imagine my life without her. But I’ve seen the way this town has taken to her. Especially my mum. Every day, when I come home, and find them laughing and working together side by side in that kitchen, I can’t imagine her not being here. They both have found something in each other. Taylor belongs here, and not just for me but for herself. If she left, it wouldn’t just be me that she was leaving.

Somewhere along the way, I think Taylor and I found ourselves again here, and the pain in my chest boils over ten-fold at the fear of losing that.