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I glance from his fingers draped possessively around my leg to his face. He flicks his gaze to me, searching my eyes before his stare returns to the road.
“I’m fine.”
Well…as fine as I can be, considering the circumstances. It’s not something I allow myself to dwell on, since there’s nothing I can do to change the situation. I just need to get through it. And that includes Austin. I need to find a way to survive him without falling any harder.
“Did you have any convos with Jasper today?”
I shake my head, thankful there weren’t any unexpected run-ins. “No.”
When I peek at him, I find his lips compressed into a tight line.
“You don’t believe me. You think we’re still together.”
In that moment, I realize just how far apart we are. It’s as if he’s standing on one side of the ocean and I’m on the other.
The night we spent talking in the car tumbles through my head, and I can’t help but wish it were possible to go back to a place where our relationship was less complicated.
“I’m not sure what to believe,” he says carefully, somber gaze latching onto mine. “Part of me wants to trust you’re being honest and had nothing to do with what happened. But there’s another part that’s afraid you two are playing me.” He shrugs. “That’s where I’m at.”
“Tell me what I have to do to prove that I’m not lying.” Desperation fills my voice.
His jaw locks and he takes his foot off the accelerator, dropping his speed as we cruise through the sleepy little town.
When he remains silent, I swivel toward him. “Austin?”
His profile looks as if it’s etched in stone.
Just as I open my mouth to plead, he gives his head a brisk shake.
Frustration wafts off him in heavy waves. “I’m not sure there’s anything you can do that will make me believe you. Too much has happened.”
My shoulders collapse as everything inside me wilts. Unsure what to say, I turn away and stare sightlessly out the passenger side window. The remainder of the ride is made in painstaking silence. By the time we pull up in front of my house, I just want to escape his presence.
I’m done playing games.
There’s no doubt in my mind that when this is over, someone will be hurt. And more than likely, it’ll be me. I don’t mean anything to Austin. He’s made that perfectly clear. And Jasper is incapable of caring about anyone other than himself. None of this would be transpiring if I’d realized that sooner and never gotten involved with him in the first place.
Unfortunately, what they say is true—hindsight is twenty-twenty.
When my fingers tighten around the handle, he reaches out and lays a hand over mine to stop me from leaving.
“We’re not done here.”
Angry with the way this conversation has played out, I snap. “I think we are.”
Everything happens so fast. One minute, I’m trying to shake him off and the next, I’m hoisted onto his lap with no other choice but to straddle his thighs.
My palms land on his chest before curling into the soft T-shirt. “What are you doing?”
“Finishing our conversation.” His hands wrap around my waist as if anchoring me to his lap.
My brows rise at his audacity. “And I don’t get a say in the matter?”
“Nope.”
Air gets sucked from my lungs as he shifts me until I’m nestled against his hard length. The same heat that flares to life inside me at the contact is echoed tenfold within his eyes.
“Are you really interested in proving your innocence?”
