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“Why not?” I cracked a smirk, even though it hurt, and not only in the physical sense. “You would take up for him over me?”
“I wasn’t taking up for him,” she answered quietly, and her hands were at her temples, rubbing them as if trying to erase what’d happened.
Harsh laughter bubbled out of my mouth. “Whatever, Hardcore. I was defending your honor. Shouldn’t I get bonus points for that?”
“No, you weren’t. You were pissing a circle around me, marking your territory.”
“And? What’s wrong with that? You’re mine, Natalie.”
“Am I?” Her voice sounded shaky. “For how long?”
How long?Didn’t she know? Didn’t she remember our deal? “You know the deal. Until one of us isn’t having fun anymore.”Are you not having fun?I almost asked her the question directly, but maybe I didn’t want to know the answer. Having fun was a vague, over-encompassing idea.
Maybe I needed to take her away from here and make her admit how much fun she could have with me. And remember how I was the one who gave her real pleasure. Gave herher firsts. How I was the one who could make her dreams come true. How I fucking protected her against assholes like the guy she was concerned about.
Unable to stop myself, I grabbed her and pulled her along with me, leading her out the gate to the driveway. “What are you doing?” She clutched my wrist with her tiny hand.
“Taking you on a joy ride.” I led her to my car and coaxed her into the passenger seat.
When I revved the engine, she sat quietly, staring at her folded hands between her thighs. “What’s really eating at you, Natalie?”
“Nothing.”
“Ah, come on. Don’t be like that.” I kept up my front of not letting anything affect me, but dammit, I wanted her to give me something. Tell me how she was fucking feeling.
“Do you like me?” she asked in a small voice and kept her eyes trained on her hands in her lap.
I stared ahead into the night, studying the lines of the median on the road that were flashing in rapid motion.Did I like her?I liked her too damn much. “Of course, I like you. Do you think I’d spend time with you if I didn’t? Where is this coming from? I thought we were on the same page.”
She stared out the window. “Yeah. We are on the same page.” Her voice sounded less than enthusiastic.
We passed through the main part of town, and I saw my gas light flash on the panel. Low fuel. I pulled into a convenience store by one of the gas pumps to refuel. Leaning on the car, I watched as the occasional car passed down the two-lane road. Sighing, I rubbed my forehead, cursing myself again. Still tense from the debacle earlier, I willed myself to get a handle on my emotions, wondering for the millionth time why I was so consumed with her.
I heard the car door close behind me, and Natalie peered at me over the hood. “I need to use the restroom.” She directed her thumb toward the store.
I nodded and watched her until she made it safely across the parking lot before entering the store. Maybe I should’ve told her to wait until I could follow her in. Goddammit. What was wrong with me? I sounded like an obsessed stalker. I ran a hand over my face and topped off the gas.
Settling back in the car, I leaned my head back.Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.Looking around, I saw a phone lodged between the console and the passenger seat, recognizing the silver case as Natalie’s cell. It must’ve fallen out of the pocket of her romper. Picking it up, a picture of some guy named Kiran flashed on the screen, trying to FaceTime her. Who the fuck was he? I had a mad urge to answer it, but common sense finally prevailed.
I laid the phone on the console, but moments later, a text message popped up.
Kiran:Just giving you a heads-up. My mom spoke to your mother about us agreeing to marriage, and she was surprised. I thought you’d spoken to her about this. Call me back.
Married?
I stared dumbly at her phone for several seconds.
Natalie was actually getting married?I scanned over the text again, trying to make sense of it. But I couldn’t. Not now. Not ever. This was a joke. It had to be.
White noise blared in my ears, and hard plastic dug into my palm as I held her cell in a death grip. The urge to crush it was strong. I couldn’t put a coherent thought together, and I felt a piercing pain in my chest. The air was heavy, too heavy to inhale, suffocating me. I methodically set her phone back on the console.
Her phone chimed again, and I refused to look at it because I would destroy the damn thing. My pulse thrummed, and I clenched the steering wheel, fighting the wave of fury that flowed through my veins. Natalie was getting married? She fucking mentioned how her mother liked to play matchmaker, but she told me she wasn’t interested in marriage. The thought seemed inconceivable. How the fuck could she not tell me she was getting married? Didn’t we agree on no cheating while we were having fun? She was so concerned about what I did, but she was actually the one I needed to worry about. The one who acted so innocent yet held secrets.
My hands shook, and I was about to reconsider destroying the fucking cell that wouldn’t stop ringing. The buzzing only added more gasoline to the fire. She was concerned about my behavior earlier? She hadn’t seen anything yet.
I saw her walking back to the car like an innocent little princess.She played you.The words blared in my head. She was like a witch and put some kind of spell on me. She’d pulled me in with her naïveté, her intelligence, and her fucking sultry beauty without even trying. She’d blindsided me. That was the only way I could’ve fallen for her.Fallen for her?
Natalie
