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It’s FaerieBeast’s barking that finally brings me back to Earth. I pull away from Tyson, flushed and disheveled, and stumble back onto my butt. He smooths his hair with one hand and gets to his feet, offering me his hand.
“I think Cole’s home,” he says, pulling me smoothly to my feet.
My stomach drops. What was I thinking?
Chapter 8
Jordan
It’snotCole,thankGod, only a neighbor hoping to borrow a shovel. I’m still flushed, chucking books back into my backpack as quickly as I can while FaerieBeast goes back to snoring. The fire’s heat has suddenly become stifling. I give FaerieBeast a quick pat goodbye and then flee toward the front door. Tyson is nowhere to be seen, presumably off searching for the requested shovel, so I sit down to pull on my boots, hat, and coat before heading outside. He’s coming up the sidewalk as I shut the door behind me. Trapped.
“I thought you wanted to wait for Cole.” He climbs the steps to stand beside me, but I hop down to the sidewalk before we’re side to side. I don’t know what I’ll do if he tries to kiss me again, and I don’t want to find out.
“It’s getting late. I should really go,” I say, tilting my head back to watch the snow fall so I don’t have to look at his handsome, infuriating face.
He looks up and down the street. “I don’t see your ride.”
“I’ll meet them at the store on the corner, it’s no big deal.” Cole’s neighborhood is safe, mostly families, and streetlights line the sidewalk.
But Tyson shakes his head. “Nope. No way.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s late, and it’s snowing heavily. You’re not walking to the store alone to wait for a ride when there’s a perfectly good house right here. Wait inside where it’s safe.” He’s only wearing a T-shirt, but he seems content to wait here on the top step until I relent.
“I amnotgoing back into that house with you.“ I wrap my arms around myself for extra warmth and stamp my feet to wake my toes up.
“I could drive you home,” he offers. “I have to go to the airport, anyway. I have to fly back to Philly for a board meeting tomorrow morning.”
I think about the car ride spent in close proximity, the dark roads, the isolating quietness. And then what happens when we get to my place? Will he want to come in? I shake my head. “Absolutely not.”
“Then I’ll walk you there.” He opens the door, grabs a coat from inside, and trots down the steps before I can get away.
“This is so unnecessary.” I walk as quickly as I can while jabbing at my phone to schedule the ride. I send the address of the shop on the corner and zip it back into my pocket — the last thing I need is to lose my phone in a snowbank. “Besides, when’s your flight?”
“Whenever I want,” he says, pushing his hands into his pockets. “It’s my plane.”
We walk without speaking for a while, watching the snow pile up on the curb as it begins to stick to the black, wet road. I miss Cole, and the way we could fill the space easily with chatter or spend the entire time in silence without it ever feeling awkward. There is never any of this tension. And there is also never any unexpected sexual interference. I groan, and stifle it when Tyson looks sideways at me. I cannot believe I kissed him. Cole can never find out about it. The way this guy acted toward both of us, and then I go and kiss him? Some loyal friend I am.
I spot the lights of the store up ahead. “There, I can see it. Now you can go catch your flight.”
He cocks his head to the side. “I’ll go once you’re in the car. I’m not going to be responsible for you getting kidnapped.”
“It’s so strange,” my temper rising. “Most knights in shining armor don’t begin by calling the lady a bimbo.”
I know only a tiny part of my anger is a result of his coddling treatment. The rest is my doing, I am responsible for the outcome of this situation. I spent almost the entire night letting myself get distracted by this jerk. Another night without studying, as much as I needed to. I can’t afford to slip up like this, not now, not again. What I need is to go home, forget about this guy, and focus only on my schoolwork for a long, long time.
“Most ladies don’t throw themselves all over their so-called ‘friend’ in a public place,” he spits out in response.
We reach the store’s parking lot, a well-lit area with an awning that protects us from the snow. I duck underneath and wrap my hands in my scarf when all I want to do is strangle him with it.
“I hugged my friend. What iswrongwith you?“ Seriously, is he jealous or something? One second, he’s almost kind, and the next he’s hurling insults and reminding me of why I wanted to smack him across the face the first time I met him. Although I did start it by bringing up the bimbo comment. But I just need to get away from him. “I’m good from here. You can go.”
He leans against the stone wall of the store and puts his hand above his brow as if searching for something. “Hmm, still no car, so no, I think I’ll wait.”
I open the app on my phone.Please be almost here.Five minutes away.Crap.The minutes pass in agonizing silence, though Tyson seems completely unbothered. He’s standing here like it’s the only thing in the world he wants to be doing right now.
“You’re shivering,” he says, his voice startling me out of my endless stream of internal seething. “Come here.”
