“What? Oh. No. Of course not.” Sunny slows to a brisk walk. “Are you limping?”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Is this because of the spider bite?” Sunny takes it down to a stroll.

“It’s a lot better, way less swollen than it was.” I don’t need to tell her about having it drained. I’d rather leave that memory in the discard pile. “Don’t worry about me. I’m full of antibiotics and antihistamines. I’m good to go.”

“I can make you an antiseptic compress when we get back to the cottage.”

“Sure, if you think that’s gonna help.” Who am I to say no if Sunny wants to make my balls feel better?

A minute later, the trees end at the edge of the lake. Far away on the opposite shore are boathouses and more “cottages” bigger than most homes. It’s incredible excess and peaceful at the same time, apart from the hum of boat engines. Sunny sits on a fallen tree close to the water and pats the spot beside her. I straddle it so I’m facing her. Birds tweet overhead. All we need is some cheesy music and a unicorn trotting by to make it perfectly romantic, apart from the fact that we’re mad at each other.

She tucks her hair behind her ear. If she remembers our conversation from last night, and I believe she does, then she knows she’s not alone in her anger.

I still want to run my fingers through her hair, though. I want to forget about talking and make her feel good instead. The last time we did this, I was apologizing. This time it’s different, not so one-sided.

Sunny shifts around to face me as well. She’s only wearing a bikini, so the bark can’t be all that comfortable on her ass. I take off my shirt, fold it in half and offer it to her. She lays it on the log and sits.

I lean forward and rest my elbows on my thighs. “Let’s deal with the issues.”

“Lily doesn’t think I should date you.”

I already know this. Sunny said so last night. “What do you think you should do?”

“I don’t know, Miller. I’ll be honest; I was done last week before you showed up at my house . . And then we—” Her cheeks flush. “It changed things. And then there’s Kale being the way he is. I’m confused.”

“Are you saying you want to get back together with that guy? Last night you were hiding from him.” There’s this feeling in my throat, as if someone’s putting pressure on my windpipe.

“Kale and I are just friends.”

“So what’s the confusion about? I get that you and Lily are close, but she shouldn’t make your decisions for you.” I believe Lily has Sunny’s best interests in mind, even if she’s making my life more difficult.

“It’s not just her; it’s Alex, too.”

“Your brother hates me because I broke his nose.”

“That’s a very small part of why he doesn’t like you, and you know it, Miller. He still thinks you’re only interested in me to get back at him for dating Violet.” She picks at the moss-covered bark.

“Obviously that’s not true. You have to be able to see that now.”

“Was that ever part of your plan?”

“Was what ever part of my plan?”

“To sleep with me and dump me?” Her throat bobs with a thick swallow.

This conversation is hard. It hurts in a way I don’t expect that she’s been seriously worried about this. “Is that the kind of person you think I am?”

“Lily thinks—”

My frustration gets the better of me. “Who fucking cares what Lily thinks? She’s not in this relationship with us. She hasn’t even given me a chance, as far as I’m concerned. All she’s done is look at what’s on social media and taken it as gospel. In all the time we’ve spent together, have I ever given you the impression that all I want you for is a fuck?”

“No, but—”

“But what, Sunny? How many more times do I have to apologize for things that are outside of my control? I got bit on the balls by a damn spider trying to get in touch with you.”

I take her hand in mine before she can start with the hair twirling. “I’m not gonna lie; I was pissed at Waters for fucking my sister in the locker room. At the time, all I knew was that he had the same bad rep that I did, and I thought he was playing my sister. Like he thinks I’m playing you.” I look up at her. She’s nervous, like me.

“I never would’ve coerced you into bed to get back at him. That’s just assholey. But I also didn’t think it would be all that bad for him to know how it felt to have someone he didn’t like go after his sister.

“I was gonna buy you some drinks and make sure you got home okay. But when we started talking, you were fun, and sweet, and gorgeous—and you weren’t all up on my dick three seconds after we were introduced. I knew I wanted to see you again, even if Waters was going to be on my ass about it. It would’ve been easier to say screw it, but that wasn’t what I wanted then, and it isn’t what I want now.”

Sunny’s quiet for a long time. “I think in the back of my mind I’ve worried you had ulterior motives when it came to being with me.”

“You thought that, or Lily and Waters made you believe that?”

“I don’t know. Both, maybe?” She peeks up with watery eyes.

Hearing her say that is like taking a stick to the throat. “What else do I need to do to make you believe you’re the only one I’m interested in? You gotta stop thinking the absolute worst about every picture you see, especially when you already know how easy it is for things to be misconstrued, Sunny. I can’t police what goes out there, or stop the bunnies and the way they react because of how things were in the past. What I can control are the things I say and do when it comes to you. At some point you’re gonna have to put some faith in me.”