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“No.”
“Yes.”
“No. We’re going to have this date.” He flicked the locks on in the car.
“Seriously? You’re going to lock me in your car?”
“It’s what you deserve. You don’t want to hear the truth about Sean, that’s on you. I’m telling you to be careful. That’s all I’m doing. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
Pru turned toward him. “Keep me safe?”
“Yes. I know you only want to see Sean as if he’s some kind of angel. Well, I know this angel has a darkness within him and I’m not going to let you get hurt by him.”
“Drake, you know it’s not your responsibility to take care of me.” She was oddly touched that he actually cared about her. Was she crazy? Insane? All she could think was yes to both of those answers. There was no way she couldn’t not be. She was alone in the car of a guy who loved to bully her. “Drake?”
“I know it’s not my responsibility, and I’m not behaving like it is. Fuck! I didn’t want this, okay? Just promise me you’ll be careful when it comes to that asshole,” he said.
She stared at him and saw he was indeed worried about all of this. “Drake?”
“I know you don’t believe me and think I’m over-reacting and fine, maybe I am. I’m concerned.”
There was so much she wanted to say but instead, she nodded her head. “I promise I’ll be careful. You have nothing to worry about. Believe me, Sean won’t hurt me.” She truly believed that.
“We’ll agree to disagree or whatever. So, you like the rose. The trip sucked but I’m blaming Sean for his little part in all of this. Now, let’s get back to our date.” He didn’t unlock the doors.
“You’re going to keep the doors locked?”
“Until I know you won’t throw yourself out of the moving car.”
She chuckled. “I’m not going to do anything stupid. You can trust me.” She reached out and took his hand. “I rather like you being really protective.”
“You do? From where I’m sitting, you’ve got a real issue with it.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I know deep down you worry because you care.”
“And I shouldn’t. We both know the way this is going to end.”
Unfortunately, she did. There was no point arguing with him. They weren’t going to get a happily-ever-after. His life had already been decided for him, and well, she could live hers however she wanted.
“Let’s forget about all of it. Just you and me tonight. How about that?” she asked.
“I really do love the sound of that.”
She smiled and rested her head against his arm, staring out of the window. After a few seconds, she did pull away since she didn’t want to risk him hurting himself or anyone else while driving.
Drake drove for what felt like hours before he finally pulled into a lone parking lot. The restaurant looked very humble and she saw it was an Italian place. Her first-ever date was about to start. So far, her nerves were getting the better of her.
****
Drake gripped the steering wheel tightly. They’d argued about Sean again. He had to get to a grip on his anger when it came to the little prick. Sean wasn’t as good as people liked to think. Drake seemed to be the only one to see past his fake bullshit to the lying turd he really was.
One day, someone else would see what a manipulative peeping tom he really was. He knew all about Sean’s hidden cameras and sneaking into the girls’ locker rooms to film them. It was why he knew Sean wasn’t to be trusted, and whenever he went into Pru’s room, he always checked.
It was one of the many reasons why he opted for her to hang out at his place. His parents would be returning soon and he’d have to find a whole new excuse to hang out with her. He had no doubt in his mind he’d find something to do.
“This place looks nice,” she said.
“It is. I don’t know for sure. I’ve only seen the reviews. All of them are good. Good food and all the stuff.” His palms were sweaty. Why was he suddenly so nervous?
This was Pru. She’d been on the receiving end of his bullshit for a long time now. He’d just used her, hurt her, and not cared about what he’d done before. Why did this matter?
Because you’re trying to impress her, asshole!
“This is your first time coming to this place?”
“Yeah, pretty much. We get to try the food together.”
“Cool.” They climbed out of the car and his nerves didn’t disappear, not one bit. This was the most he’d ever done to impress a girl and he wasn’t even getting sex at the end of it. He really had to take a good long hard look in the mirror at himself.
