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“Where is this bus?”
“What’s wrong?” Julian says.
“The bus is fifteen minutes late.”
“Maybe it broke down. Doesn’t that kind of stuff happen all the time?”
What the hell does he know? He’s never taken a bus before.
“Sure. It’s happened to me in the past. But…”
My voice trails off as I think of an alternative. The next bus is an hour from now, which would make me over thirty minutes late. Mrs. Rizzo is a nice old lady, but I don’t want to take advantage. I could call and explain… or I can take Julian up on his offer.
“Is that ride still on the table?”
He smiles down at me. “I thought you’d never ask.”
A few minutes later, a black Escalade appears at the curb in front of us.
“A bit much, don’t you think?” I look up at him, one eyebrow raised. “You couldn’t get us an Uber?”
His nose wrinkles in disgust. “No, why would I do that when I have a driver?”
“You’re such a snob,” I say as I get into the SUV.
He climbs in behind me, his hand dangerously close to my ass. Jerk.
“I’m not a snob,” he says in his defense.
“Not a snob?” I look around at the fancy interior, finding it impossible not to laugh. “Yeah, says the guy who has someone drive him around the city like some spoiled prince.”
“Can we not fight?” He crosses his thick arms over his muscular chest, his eyes fixed on me from the opposite side of the car. “Please.”
“Fine, no fighting. But admit one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“That you’re a snob.”
He narrows his eyes at me and doesn’t respond.
“I’m sure plenty of girls like the whole Chuck Bass thing you’ve got going on here, but I’m not one of them.”
I always compared him to the rich, hot douche from Gossip Girl, because his character was the only real frame of reference I had when it came to rich pricks.
He snorts. “Chuck Bass is a fictional character.”
“He was probably based on you.” I can’t contain my laughter, and surprisingly, Julian laughs along with me.
“I missed this,” he says.
My body stiffens from his confession. “You missed me yelling at you? Maybe you need to get a life.”
“You always called me out on my shit,” he continues. “And you never liked any of this… stuff. None of it ever impressed you.”
“Because I liked you, you idiot.” My tone is cold, devoid of any emotion. “Not your money or any of this crap. I could have cared less if you were a billionaire or had two cents left to your name.”
Now, it’s my confession that causes him to go rigid. I can tell by the look in his eyes that what I said hit him hard. Julian cared about me once. I know he did. And for a split second, his rough exterior fades, allowing me to see the side of him I have also missed. I never understood how two people who were so different could come together as one the way we did. We were perfect together. I felt like he was the missing piece in my life. And when I found him, I latched on too hard. I was too afraid to let him go and that fear killed us. It ruined everything.
