Love Hurts by Holly Hood

and hard about marrying Delaney because I will always be here to out you when it’s needed. And I will this time. I will not let Delaney go through what I went through because of you.”
     
    Sam stayed quiet, watching Delaney get closer. He furiously flexed his jaw, his foot tapping the gas. Luckily the car was in park or they would have crashed into the side of the hotel he thought.
     
    “ Hey you two,” Delaney said cheerful. Rose got out of the front seat, “Everything alright?”
     
    Delaney settled in next to Sam. She gave him a look, wondering why she felt an enormous amount of tension in the car suddenly. Rose leaned forward, throwing her hand on Delaney’s shoulder. She squeezed. “Everything is wonderful, Laney. Did you get that fax done?”
     

 

     
    Different versions of Love
     

     
    Dylan let out a giggle taking a bite of the pizza in her hand. She dropped the pizza back into the box, dropping back against Frankie’s headboard. “This is really amazing.”
     
    Frankie nodded, chewing. He stopped the movie they were watching. “I told you greasy dives like Panini’s are incredible.” He tossed his crust, wiping his hands on a napkin, leaning back against his headboard. Dylan and him had been spending time together. The first visit wasn’t her last—in fact, there were probably around a half a dozen now. But Frankie was oblivious of the pattern picking up between the two of them. He enjoyed hanging out with her. He never took the time to get to know anybody before. And it was a bit amusing to him to hear about other people’s lives.
     
    “ So tell me again why your boyfriend cheated on you,” Frankie said, shooting her a scheming smile. Dylan smirked herself, stuffing the dangling cheese into her mouth. She gestured with one finger for him to wait, patting her mouth with a napkin.
     
    “ He said I wasn’t serious enough for him.” She frowned, and then shook her head. “I’m serious enough when I have to be. I also had a boyfriend who dumped me because I was sick. This was back in high school.”
     
    Frankie trailed his fingers down her leg, working his fingers to her knee and back up again. Even watching her eat enthralled him in a weird way. She was alluring and he wasn’t afraid to admit that. He didn’t think that made him weak or pathetic. “What kind of sick? Why were you sick?”
     
    Dylan dropped down, resting her head on Frankie’s abdomen, her hazel eyes staring up at him. “I had to have a kidney transplant. I got really sick my sophomore year. My brother gave me his kidney. How cool is that?”
     
    Frankie stroked her hair. He enjoyed the way it draped all around him, the feel of it, and her scent. He shook his head, trying to shake his mind out of the gutter. “I suppose that is a pretty cool thing for someone to do. I guess your brother thought you were worth it. I don’t know if my brother would ever do something like that for me.” Frankie stared off.
     
    Dylan poked at his mouth with her fingers. He kissed them in response, making her smirk. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. I’m sure he would.”
     
    “ I don’t need to give myself credit. I know who I am. I don’t sugarcoat things.” Frankie flipped the movie back on tired of talking about nonsense.
     
    Dylan poked his mouth again. “Who are you?”
     
    Frankie raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want to know.”
     
    “ What if I do?” Dylan asked.
     
    Frankie shook his head. Wondering why girls were always so inexperienced and ready to fall head over heels for any guy. “Then that would mean you probably have a lot of issues of your own. Knowing a guy like me will get you nowhere.”
     
    Dylan pursed her lips annoyed that Frankie was so callous about himself. “You’re so pessimistic. It is really frustrating how you rag on yourself all the time.”
     
    Frankie took his hand away from her hair. “Well feel free to do it for me then, honey.”
     
    Dylan sat up offended. “Why