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“You do know what he wanted, don’t you?” In the fading light he looked rough and a little dangerous. She could understand why Mitch had decided to back away without a fight.
“Yes. I’m not stupid.” Or maybe she was. She slumped in her seat. “I don’t blame you for being mad. That’s twice you’ve had to rescue me.”
“I’m not mad. I am concerned that you didn’t know how to deal with him.”
“I would have been okay.” She tried not to think about that disgusting kiss or those arms like iron bars, locking her body against his. She also tried not to think about what rumors Kennedy and the others were going to spread about her in school, but that was harder.
“You need to learn to take care of yourself and we’re going to deal with that, but the first rule of self-defense is not getting yourself into bad situations in the first place.”
Mack gaped at him. “You’re going to teach me how to fight?”
“Fighting and being able to defend yourself aren’t the same thing. Did you ever do any martial arts? Self-defense?”
“I’m not what you’d call a sporty person.” Mack kept her hand between the seats so that she could stroke Captain. “If I was, I wouldn’t have had problems. Sporty people don’t usually get bullied. Don’t tell me—you were captain of the football team.”
The corner of his mouth flickered. “No ball skills whatsoever.” It was only a hint of a smile but it was enough to make her feel better.
“I bet you have like fifteen different black belts and can throw a ten-ton man onto his back with a flick of your little finger.”
“No belts of any color. And I was a scrawny kid.”
Mack eyed the bulk of shoulder muscle under his jacket. “You’re not scrawny now.”
“I filled out some, that’s true. But it’s not what you’re like on the outside that stops you being bullied, it’s what’s on the inside.”
“My insides are a mess, too, so I guess I’m doomed.”
“It starts with your brain. First you do the thinking. Is this a good situation? Does it feel right?”
Mack huddled in her seat. Nothing about that situation had felt right. “You make it sound easy, but it’s not so easy when you’re friendless.”
“A friend is someone who cares about you. What you had back there was a bunch of teenagers who didn’t give jack shit about you.” His bluntness made her eyes fill.
“Thanks for not making me feel better at all.” If she had another way of getting home, she would have taken it. She was already feeling raw. She didn’t need any more abrasions.
“You want me to lie and pretend those kids are your friends?”
“Okay, enough! Stop! I don’t need this.” Mack put her hands over her ears and then let them drop into her lap. “They all hate me. I get it. I’m never going to make friends now and I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life.”
He frowned. “All I’m saying is—”
“I know what you’re saying! There’s no need to hammer it home. Is this what you would have been like if you’d stuck around?”
“Honest, you mean?”
“I was going to say tactless. Unkind.”
“We have different definitions of unkind.”
“Whatever.” She leaned her head back against the seat, wondering if l
ife could possibly get any worse. “Are you going to tell my mom about tonight?”
He slowed down as they approached an intersection. “Why would I do that?”
“Because I made a stupid choice. You probably think I need discipline.”
“I think you had a nasty moment and that’s going to stay with you longer than anything I, or your mom, might say. If you want to tell your mom, that’s your decision.” They’d reached Edgartown and he drove slowly along the narrow streets.
