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“Well, that’s good to know,” he replied, blue eyes locked on mine, tone gruff.
“I’m really sorry for what I did last night,” I whispered, forcing myself to address the elephant in the room.
“Shannon.” Johnny leaned forward, rested his elbows on his thighs, and sighed heavily. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”
“There is,” I mumbled. “I shouldn’t have done that.” Shaking my head, I resisted the urge to bolt, choosing instead to be a grown-up about the situation. Tricky thing to do, given my age and rampant emotions around this boy, but I did it. “It won’t happen again.”
“I don’t want you to be sorry, Shannon,” he replied gruffly.
I exhaled shakily. “You don’t?”
He shook his head slowly. “No.”
And just like that, the air changed around us.
“I should probably go,” I whispered, quickly breaking the tension.
I stood up before I did something stupid, like kiss him.
Oh wait, I already did that.
Ugh…
“There’s a bus going my route at two o’clock with my name on it.”
And then maybe I won’t have to deal with my dad.
Johnny frowned. “You’re not going back to class?”
I shook my head. “No, I need to go home and, uh, sort myself out.”
“Yeah, uh, right,” he muttered. “Of course.” He checked his watch and said, “It’s quarter to two now,” before turning his gaze back on me. “I’ll drive you.”
I opened my mouth to say no, but Johnny got there first.
“I want to take you home,” he told me. “I need to make sure you’re okay.”
“Why?”
“I just do.” Standing up, Johnny reached for my bag and tossed it over his shoulder before turning to look at me. “Let me take you home, Shannon.”
Don’t do it, Shannon. Don’t put yourself through it again.
And don’t you dare get your hopes up.
I blew out a ragged breath. “Yeah, okay.”
51Losing the Run of Myself
JOHNNY
Shannon was in my car again.
So much for not bulldozing. They might as well slap a CAT sticker on my forehead and switch on my hazards, I seemed to do so much of it around this girl.
And I was nervous—so much that my stupid fucking heart could have been a strong contender for Olympic gold in boxing, it was thumping around so hard in my chest.
Fucking Bella. She needed to get a bleeding life and stop interfering in mine. She needed to step the hell back and let go. Messing around with Shannon was something I would not tolerate. I hoped she got that message loud and clear today because I was not fucking around. Not when it came to the girl sitting beside me.
