“Never pretended not to be,” he calls to my back as I gather my clothes to get dressed.Un-fucking-believable.
“Oh, and by the way, Henderson came looking for you this morning.” I pause but before I can ask what he said, he continues, “Don’t worry though. I told him I tookreal goodcare of you.”
* * *
Emilio offersme a breakfast burrito as I head out the door but I decline. Not the least bit hungry. I haven’t been eating much since Mom died, and after what just happened with Roman, I have absolutely zero appetite. I’m fuming over the fact he took his pleasure and then denied me mine. Who the hell does he think he is?Stupid devil.
I go searching for Aaron uncertain of what sort of reception I’ll get. I can’t believe Roman said that.
Asshole.
I march across the clearing in search of Aaron, pissed at myself for allowing Roman to get under my skin and determined to smooth things over with Aaron in person. I can’t afford to screw up one of the few friendships I have in this town.
I find him easy enough. He’s sitting on the back of someone’s tailgate, drinking a beer, and joking with a group of guys similarly dressed. They all look like they just walked out of a Zumiez so I figure they’re boarders like Aaron.
When he spots me walking toward him, he sets down his beer and leans back against the bed of the truck. I can’t see his eyes masked behind a pair of blue mirrored Ray Bans but I can tell by the downward curve of his lip that I’m not going to get a warm reception.
“Hey,” I say and offer a small wave.Really Allie? A wave?Because that wasn’t awkward.
“Hey.”
I stand there, shifting from one foot to the other. He doesn’t say anything else and the other three guys with him are now staring at me like I’ve grown three heads while wearing a tutu.
“Can we talk?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Sure. Talk.”
Okay then. I guess I should have expected that. I lick my lips wishing I could see his eyes, gauge just how mad he is with me right now.
“Aaron,” I drag out his name.
He huffs out an exasperated sigh. “Whatever. Fine.” Jumping down from the tailgate he walks toward his cabin and stops just in front of the porch to lean against the railing. “What can I do for you?” He waves his beer with an over exaggerated flourish.
“You don’t have to be a jerk,” I mutter, folding my arms across my chest.
He’s silent for a beat and I realize he’s not going to say anything. Awesome. Now it’s my turn to sigh. “Look, I just wanted to apologize for bailing on you last night. I saw that girl on your lap by the fire and figured you’d want the room to yourself.” I shrug and do my best to adopt an apologetic look. “I wasn’t trying to ghost you.”
Silence.
“If you don’t want me here anymore, I’ll grab my things and get a ride back to town.”
Nothing.
Wonderful.
“Whatever.” I turn to head inside his cabin to grab my stuff, praying I can catch an Uber out here in the middle of boom-freaking-nowhere when his hand on my elbow stops me.
I pause, but don’t turn back to him.
Gravel crunches beneath his feet as he steps closer, moving around me until we’re facing one another. He rubs the back of his neck in an almost nervous gesture, but I must be reading that wrong.
“I’m sorry. I was a dick.” The corner of his mouth curls up in an apologetic smile.
Really?“I’m sorry too. I really wasn’t trying to be a B and ghost you.” It’s true. Granted, I also wasn’t trying to steer clear so I wasn’t a cock-block either. But he doesn’t need to know that. He also doesn’t need to know I was swept away by good looks and hot tattoos. Wouldn’t be the first time I’d made poor decisions while intoxicated. First Ryker. Now Roman.Urgh.And if I'm being honest with myself, it probably wasn’t my last. And if I was really, really honest, booze had nothing to do with it. “Are we cool?” I ask, shoving away my inner monologue. I could berate myself and my poor decision-making skills later. “Because I like hanging out with you. I don’t have many friends here and it’d be nice not to lose that with you.”
He exhales sharply. “Yeah. I know I’m overreacting, it’s just,” he pauses. “I have bad history with the Devils, ya know?”
I quirk a brow in question because no, I don’t know. I have no idea what issues lie between them. Only that it appears to be mutual.
