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Garrett had kept his ht while Parker stood there with her hands on her hips looking defiant and hurt He had sent her to his rooet dressed so they could talk and found her passed out on his bed a few over for Parker and no further talk of the previous night’s events

Parker had sensed Garrett’s presence as soon as he first arrived at the gy to see if he would finally say so to her Parker realized after five minutes that he obviously still had a stick up his ass It hurt her deeply that he wasn’t talking to her With Milo gone, Garrett was her only friend, her only fa on speaking terms with this him made her feel so alone It e, confused and scared and with no one to turn to when life altering events occurred

"Are you going to stand there all night staring atto speak at soer and disappoint loud and clear in her voice

Garrett and Parker often traded smart-ass comments like that over the years They were friends that liked to joke around, and they were comfortable with each other

For so of aardness in the air this time It was like all of a sudden there had been a shift in the at that had h before suddenly seemed serious Maybe it was the tension between the in the air Whatever it was practically hummed around them and made the hair on Parker’s aruiltily flash up froo

"It is a really nice ass," Garrett said with a shrug

The joke fell flat

Garrett stood there with his hands in his pockets wondering why he felt so fucking aith his friend He was pissed and he was hurt but everything suddenly felt off, like he didn’t kno to talk to her or what to say Every fight they’d ever had, every aard s and ht in front of hi hi, or to just stop being a dick

When he continued to stand there with nothing to say, she pulled her arm back and punched hi the spot where her fist connected "What the fuck was that for?"

Parker roughly shoved his chest, forcing Garrett to stumble backwards a few steps

"Coht," Parker said, shaking her hands out, stretching her neck and bringing her fists up in front of her face in a boxer’s stance

Garrett laughed at how absurd she was acting

"Coht you," Garrett said with another laugh as she began to circle hi away to continue circling hi to get pissed

Parker’s fist shot out towards his face and Garrett’s reflexes kicked in at the last minute as he jerked his head out of the way

"What’s wrong, McCarthy?" Parker taunted, swinging with the opposite fist and narrowly ht kick your ass?"

Garrett was too pissed off to laugh at her She’d tried to punch hi frorabbed both of her wrists, yanking her towards hiainst his chest

They stood close, chest and thighs pressed together, breathing heavily and staring each other down for several long, tense h clenched teeth He shook her ar her body to jerk as he punctuated his hurt "Everything about you is a lie"

Parker’s body suddenly twisted to the side as she maneuvered behind him and Garrett felt a sharp kick to the back of his knees Before he kneas happening, he was upside down and then his back was slammed to the mat The as instantly knocked out of hi his ar not to pass out and wondering how a five foot seven little wisp of nothing that weighed all of a buck-twenty just knocked a Navy SEAL flat on his ass

Parker shifted her hips and tightened her hold on his ar Garrett’s ainst his and the heat between her thighs that warmed his stomach

"I didn’t lie to you I protected you There’s a difference," Parker said softly, her mouth inches frouilt and sadness swirling around

"You don’t think it killed le ti or what I was doing? Do you think I enjoyed pretending to be sole moment I spent with you made me finally feel whole and alive and like maybe I didn’t need to pretend anymore?"

Parker’s hold relaxed on Garrett’s arht years you were the only one I ever wanted to be completely honest with"

Parker was tired of the lies If Garrett wanted the truth, she’d give it to hi he wanted

All he had to do was ask

Garrett watched as Parker slid her hands down the underside of his arainst his chest so she could sit up He stared as she swung her leg off of him and stood He didn’t ned my life ao months before I even met you and Milo No matter how much I wanted to tell you, I couldn’t"