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My shoulders slump. “Yeah, I texted him. Thanks, EJ. I should go. I need to catch a cab home.”
Zane, who must’ve been eavesdropping, says, “I can take you, Deanna. I don’t mind.”
“No, that’s okay.” That has bad idea written all over it. Zane is a good guy, I know, but there’s no need for him to take me home. I stand, say goodbye to the women, and head out. I sigh when Zane catches up to me. “Zane,” I start.
“I can at least walk you out if you won’t let me give you a ride home. And you should let me. Why pay a cab when I can take you for free?”
Good point, but not good enough.
“So, how are things going?” he asks when I don’t respond.
I glance over to see that he seems genuinely curious. “Work is fine, but otherwise? Not great. But you know me; I always find a way to screw something up.”
“That’s not true,” he immediately says.
“Oh, yeah? I was oblivious to how you felt, wasn’t I? I had no problem walking away and being blunt about it.”
He frowns, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “You may have a point.”
“Gee, thanks.”
He laughs. “I’m sure things will work out. Brayden doesn’t give up easily.”
“Yet I’m taking a cab home.” Granted, I’m the one who fucked up, but still.
“Oh, come on.” Zane throws an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. “Look at the bright side.”
“What bright side?” I interrupt incredulously before he can say so. How is there possibly a bright side to this? I look down at my phone, hoping for a text from Br
ayden. At this point, I’ll even take a big fat fuck you. Just some kind of acknowledgment.
“The bad stuff only makes you stronger in the end,” he says, pushing open the door for us to step outside.
I roll my eyes and put my hand on his side to push him away, intending to tell him that’s a crock of shit. Before I can do so, Zane’s arm drops and he stops walking. I glance up to see Brayden fifteen feet ahead of us, looking as pissed off as ever.
“Well, there’s your ride,” Zane says. He turns and leaves me there, which irritates me.
“What the fuck are you doing with him?” Brayden demands once I get within two feet of him.
“He was walking me out since you decided not to give me a ride home. That was very nice of you, by the way.”
He sneers almost. “I just saw your text, Deanna. That’s why I’m coming back into the building. Why isn’t Zane giving you a ride home?”
“Because I told him I’d rather take a cab.”
He snorts like he doesn’t believe me. “Well, looks like I’m stuck with you now, so let’s go.”
Oh, hell no. “Do you want to take me home?”
“You didn’t give me much of a choice. Let’s go.” He turns and walks away without giving me a chance to respond or to see if I’ll follow along. Fine, he can walk away by himself.
He’s pissed. He has a right to be. But if he doesn’t want to deal with me, I won’t make him. Forcing myself on him wasn’t my best idea; it’s probably made things worse. I turn and stalk off toward the front of the arena, where I know there will be a line of taxis waiting to take people home, and if there’s not one waiting, they’ll pick me up there. I double-checked that particular fact before I decided to come without a car.
I’m halfway through one of the lots, only one more to go, when I hear running footsteps. My body tenses. When I glance over my shoulder, I nearly collapse in relief to find Brayden and not some crazed man. Although, to see the look on his face, he may be a crazed man.
“What are you doing now?” he demands to know.
“You didn’t want to take me home, so I’m going with my backup plan. You know, there’s these things called taxis. What are you doing?”
