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The entire ride home was soaked in silence, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t the one in the wrong here, so it wasn’t up to me to make things right. Lars was acting unreasonably, and anyone with a pair of two working eyes could see that.
When Lars pulled into the driveway, I was already halfway out of the car before he could stop me. Usually, I was too busy grabbing my things from the backseat that Lars had time to open my door for me.
Yeah, well, not today.
Chapter 5
The reality that we refuse to see.
Edie~
“This isn’t funny.”
“It’s a little funny.”
“It’s really not, Talon,” I insisted. “He’s out of control.”
My brother let out a heavy sigh. “C’mon, Edie. You can’t honestly tell me that you weren’t expecting him to behave this way.”
“No, yeah, I knew that he’d be checking up on me, but…Talon, the guy isout of control,”I repeated. “He threatened Danny Mason for justtalkingto me.”
As soon as I had shut the front door in Lars’ face, I had pulled my phone out, dialing my brother. There had to be a happy medium that would satisfy both me and Talon. Plus, I wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t as naïve as everyone treated me. Yeah, I didn’t have any experience with guys, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t recognize a cheesy come on line when I heard it.
“Talon, I’m eighteen,” I reminded him. “I’m eighteen and have never kissed a guy.”
Another sigh. “Edie, c’mon-”
“No, Talon,” I said, interrupting him. “I need you to listen to me.” Luckily, he remained silent. “I’m eighteen, and I have absolutely no experience with guys. So, you tell me, how am I supposed to be able to tell the difference from the ones that really like me and the ones that are just after a quick piece of ass if I can’t eventalkto them?”
After a heartbeat of silence, he said, “Okay, that’s a fair point. Still, I’m not going to apologize for looking out for you, Edie. Since the day that you were born, you’ve been one of the single most important things in my life, and I’d do it all over again if given the choice.” I could feel my eyes begin to sting. “I don’t regret a single moment with you, and that includes making sure that you hadn’t ever been taken advantage of. The goal had always been to make sure that you were happy, Edie.”
I quickly wiped away a tear. “Talon, I’m grateful for everything that you’ve ever done for me. I’m sorry if I sound spoiled or-”
“Edie, you’re the least spoiled person that I know,” he said, interrupting me this time. “I wasn’t accusing you of being ungrateful. I was just pointing out that I’m not bothered by the fact that you have no experience with guys, and if I could do it all over again, I’d do it exactly the same.”
“Yeah, but you used to let me talk to guys,” I pointed out. “You never had a problem with that.”
“That’s because no guy in his right mind would think about doing anything more than just talking to you, Edie,” he replied. “My reputation ensured that no one would get any ideas, so I hadn’t needed to act like a lunatic to get my point across. That’s not the case with Lars.”
“Danny Mason was justtalkingto me, Talon,” I repeated.“Just talking.”
Letting out another sigh, he asked, “So, what do you want me to do, Edie?”
“Just talk to him,” I pleaded. “Tell him that you don’t mind me talking to guys.”
“But I do mind,” he argued.
“Talon, c’mon…”
After another stretch of silence, he finally said, “Look, even though I don’t like the idea…” Another long sigh. “If given the choice, I’d rather you date while you still have someone nearby to keep an eye out for you.” I could feel myself getting excited. “Without any dating experience, it’ll be like leading a lamb to the slaughter once you’re off at college.”
“Really?” I asked hopefully.
There was another long stretch of silence before he said, “Really.”
“Oh, my God,” I squealed. “Talon-”
“Hey,” he snapped, stopping my premature celebration. “That doesn’t mean that you get to start running around with whoever the hell you want to, Edie. I expect you to be smart about this.”
