For a bare instant, I truly thought Anders was going to slap me. His eyes widened until he looked like a maniac, and a vein popped out on his forehead as his entire body trembled. He even raised a hand, and though I didn’t flinch back or wince, inwardly, I cursed myself for opening my mouth. I couldn’t have emasculated Anders worse if I’d cut his balls off with scissors. Though, if hedidtouch me, that might be how I responded.
“Get the fuck out of my sight,” he screamed, slashing his hand through the air like a knife and pointing at the door.
“Anders, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said?—”
“I said get out!” he bellowed, his face inches from mine, spittle flying from his lips onto my face. I turned my head, squeezing my eyes shut and forcing myself not to slap him.
“Yo, boss? Everything all right?”
Anders and I turned to see Brock and that bitch Eugenia peering in from the rear of the house. His friends had all been in the game room, playing pool and darts. I glared at Eugenia. She grinned back at me, obviously delighting in the fight taking place.
“We’re good,” Anders said, heaving in breath like he’d been running. “June was justleaving.” He emphasized the last word, leaning in close to make sure I understood.
“Fuck it,” I hissed, yanking my coat from a peg on the wall by the door. “Fine. I’m leaving, okay?”
“Good.”
As I walked out the door, Anders said, “Brock, take everybody to the store, get us some beers and some shit for burgers. I’m fucking hungry. I need some time alone.”
The last thing I heard before slamming the door behind me was Brock’s sycophantic voice responding. “On it, boss.”
I pulled my coat on and jammed my fists into my pockets, impotent rage surging through me as I walked down the driveway. As I walked, I kept thinking of things I could have said. After five minutes of that, I slipped into a melancholy emotional state. I realized, with some bitter disappointment, that I would have to apologize to Anders. That thought had a sour and acrid taste to it, but I didn’t know what else to do. He was so stubborn and childish, there was no wayhe’dapologize. It would all be up to me to do the right thing.
Anders hadn’t changed at all. That day at the overlook, he’d been putting on an act. I could see that now. If anything, he’d become even more of a prick. The only difference was that he wanted me around rather than away. Could I really go through with this? Could I really spend the rest of my life with a power-hungry man who was immature and quick to anger? He was so emotionally stunted; it was like he was still in high school. I didn’t see any other options, though. I’d burned too many bridges.
“Hey.”
“Holy shit,” I yelped and nearly stumbled into the road. Spinning around, I found Levi grinning at me.
“Sorry,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“What were you doing?” My surprise rekindled my anger. “Were you following me?”
Levi shrugged, which pissed me off even more for some reason. “I headed to the rental house, then decided to come back. I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?” I said, then snorted out a humorless laugh. “Jesus.Men!”
“What does that mean?” Levi asked, his brow furrowing, hands resting on his hips.
“It means…” I frowned, then shook my head in exasperation. “Screw it, it doesn’t matter what it means.”
The last thing I wanted was to have a heart-to-heart with Levi. My fight with Anders had me in a lousy mood, and this wasn’t helping in the least.
“Can you leave me alone?” I said. “I need some peace.”
Sighing, Levi took a step forward. “I can tell you’re upset, but this can’t wait. We need to talk. I miss you, and I think you miss me too. We should discuss this.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I turned on my heel and marched back to Anders’s house.
“Wait,” Levi called, rushing to catch up to me. “Where are you going?”
“Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of my mate. Okay?” I said, not even bothering to look at him.
“June, come on. You know that won’t go well.”
“Oh!” I cast a glare at him. “And sneaking up on someone is a good way to have a conversation?”
He tilted his head back, frustration evident on his face, but he continued walking beside me. “I didn’t sneak up on you. You were downwind of me, for god’s sake. You should have caught my scent before I even said anything.”
