Not Even Close (A New Generation) by Elizabeth Reyes (books to read in a lifetime txt) 📗

“You’re so much more to me than he’s ever been.”

“But you’re thinking of him while . . .” He couldn’t even say it.What the fuck was wrong with him? “While I’m rubbing myself on—”

“Byron!” she said uncharacteristically loud, as she brought herhand to her mouth, and spun around so she wasn’t facing him anymore.

“Byron what?” he asked confused.

She was going to cry now? Now that she’d gotten his name right?She turned around to face him again, and her eyes did look slightly glistened.But he wouldn’t fall for it. He wouldn’t give in like a chump and back off. He wasn’tbeing too hard on her even though seeing her nearly in tears did shit to him heshould not be feeling. Especially after this.

“I just misspoke,” she explained again even as her hand remainedover her mouth. “I was thinking of him earlier. There was something Iwas going to mention to you about him and me earlier but then the conversationveered off, and I guess his name just stayed in my head.”

Feeling his heart sink unbelievably deeper he stared at heralmost speechless. “You and him?”

“Well, no . . . I mean . . .” She fumbled with her words thenwent on. “I-It’s just that he wants—”

Byron’s phone rang on the counter interrupting her stutteringlies but he hit the button to send the call to voicemail. “Get out.” He didn’teven want to hear what that fucker wanted, and she was obviouslyconsidering if she’d meant to run it past him. But mostly, he couldn’t standthe pain of looking into those beautiful eyes, knowing he’d been right about whathe’d begun to feel. She was pulling back and maybe this was why. Maybeafter seeing each other again at the barbeque they’d begun to reconnect. “Getthe hell out, and don’t ever call me again.”

“Byron no. Please, hear me out. I can explain.”

“Explain what, Savannah? That you’re thinking of your exwhile you’re spending time with me? And he’s asking for shit from you now thatyou’re considering?”

“No!”

She reached out and tried to touch him again, but he flinched hishand back. “Get the fuck off me.” He motioned to her phone. “Call Richie.Tell him you’re free to give him whatever he wants. That you’ve been free allthis time, you just couldn’t hang with him tonight because you’d alreadymade plans to hang with me.”

“No, I haven’t done anything with him since . . .” She pausedwith an odd expression on her face, then shook her head. “A week ago?”

“You were with him a week ago?”

The blinding rage nearly blurred his vision as her words sank in.“Get the fuck out, Savannah!”

“Baby, baby, baby!” She brought her hands to her mouth and to addinsult to injury she squealed in laughter.

“This is funny to you?”

“It’s a prank.” He was still so incensed and utterly shattered hecould barely breathe—think straight—the words didn’t register, even as hewatched her hurry toward her phone. “A TikTok challenge like the ones Mannypulled on my uncle Romero.” She showed him the phone and the red lightindicating she was filming. He’d been so busy being all over her earlier, hehadn’t even noticed the light was on. “It’s for our online channels. I haven’tseen Richard since the barbeque at my grandparents, and I still haven’t spokento him in almost a year.”

“Bullshit,” Byron said but with less conviction this time becauseSavannah was still squealing, and now he could see the glistening in her eyesearlier was probably tears of laughter.

“Nena made me do it!” She clutched her chest barely able to catchher breath. “Oh my God. I can’t believe I held out that long.”

If it wasn’t for her outright laughing Byron might’ve furtherquestioned whether she was lying or not but, she actually did the littlerunning in place thing he’d seen her do before, slapping her knee high in theair, while she cracked up all high pitched in front of the phone she set backdown on the counter. “I got him!”

She was just too damn excited about this, for this to not reallybe a prank. Then Byron remembered something. “I heard the dude on the phone,Savannah.”

She took a few steps toward him, then stopped when he held hisarm up not letting her near him. Slapping her knee again, she jerked her headback as she fisted her hand over her mouth and laughed so hard, she wheezed. Wheezed.“That was Taz!”

“This isn’t funny.”

Feeling the tension once again slowly drain from his completely pent-upbody, it was at that moment Byron knew. He knew without a doubt because he’dbeen that ready to blow—ready to tell her to fuck off.

Only Savannah.

Only she could have him ready to punch a fist through afucking wall one minute and now here he was actually trying not to smirk. Shewent on to explain between laughing and wiping tears from her eyes, how herbrother had showed up unexpectedly since he’d been in the area while she’d beenon the phone with Sienna. Since she’d already told Sienna where she was headedher sister concocted the whole thing and begged her to please do it.

“She’s been so mad all this time that she didn’t get any footageof what happened between you and Taz at the gym. Says our views would’ve gonethrough the roof if she’d been vlogging at the time. Which she usually is, nomatter where she’s at. The brat knows I’ve been feeling guilty about notcontributing much to the channel since I started school, so she convinced me todo this.” She paused only to exhale a bit exaggerated like she was exhausted. “Ichickened out yesterday, and I almost chickened out today.”

Byron crossed his arms in front of him unable to hide the smirkanymore. Not just because seeing her laugh so much, even if at his expense now,was still as breathtaking as it’d been all the other times he’d been witness tothat huge smile. But because he almost felt high with the relief of knowingthis hadn’t been the real thing. She hadn’t really broken his heart because asmuch as he might try and deny it, it’s exactly what it’d instantly felt like.

“We got’em Nena.” She said into