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“What's wrong?” Her eyes are soft and concerned—hesitant too, which isn't surprising considering the way things were left between us last night.
I shake my head and walk through to the main living space, hearing the quiet padding of her socked feet following behind me.
“You can talk to me, ya know?” she probes, curling herself into the same armchair she sat in last night.
I guess it's her place now.
“Just work stuff.”
She waits, with a pointed look, for me to continue.
I blow out a sigh. “The old dude who works at the gas station. I don't know if you remember him, Stanley Garrison? His car's fucked and he can't afford the repairs, and I can't afford to do them for free.”
Her face falls in sympathy—not for me, but for the old guy who's just trying to make the most out of life with what he's got.
“What are you going to do?”
Huffing, I grumble, “Dunno.”
Thea rolls her eyes at my attitude. “Okay, forget I asked.”
Leaving her glowering at me, I take more time than necessary to grab two bottles of beer from the fridge and pop the tops off on the edge of the countertop. I'm acting like a childish asshole, I know I am, but I don't trust myself to be in her space right now. In the mood I'm in, I'd only end up doing something I'll regret later. Like saying something I can't take back. Or worse, kissing her again.
“Oh, I meant to ask,” Thea says as I hand her one of the beers and reluctantly take a seat across from her on the couch. “How come my rental car's in the driveway? Last I knew, we couldn't get it started and it was stranded on the street outside my mom's.”
“The battery was dead,” I tell her gruffly. “Had one of the boys who work for me go over today and jumpstart it. They drove it over this afternoon.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks flush and she gnaws her bottom lip between her teeth. Why can't I stop looking at it?“That's really sweet.”
I snort. “Not sure 'sweet' is the word, princess.”
“Well, anyway, thank you.”
I shrug off her appreciation and take a long pull of beer. “So, we should probably talk about last night, huh?”
Thea's eyes close, as if she's bracing herself. “Okay?”
I can't fault her for the trepidation I hear in her voice. I instigated the conversation and even I have no idea what I'm about to say.
She hugs her legs to her chest, chin resting on her knees. Long eyelashes flutter like butterfly wings on top of alabaster cheeks tinged pink with anxiety and for a moment, all I can do is stare at her.
Fuck me, she's so goddamn beautiful.
She gnaws worriedly at her cherry-blossom lips and I can't fucking look away. I know those lips are softer than the world's finest silk and sweeter than the apples in Eden, but the only thing I can think about as I stare at them is how they haven't belonged to me for six years. How they now belong to someone else.
“I shouldn't have kissed you.”
The statement hangs like a putrid smell in the air, festering into something septic. Her eyes turn cold, any warmth or concern that was there before disappearing into the silence.
“It was a mistake. I'm sorry.”
“You're sorry?” she barks a laugh. “What are you sorry for exactly? Kissing me like you were trying to breathe life into my body or abandoning me immediately afterward?”
“That's ridiculous. I didn't fucking abandon you.”
“Oh no?” She stands and glares down at me. “Then what do you call storming out and not coming home all night?”
“This ain't your home, princess. Don't go forgetting that.”
