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“That woman is so mad at you,” Sky whispered.
I sighed. No shit. I gave her a look that dared her to continue her statement, tightening my hands around my forearms. “What makes you think it was something I did?”
Sky shrugged. “It’s always something you did. You’re kind of an asshole.”
When Sky walked away, I was left to stare at Simone. She wore a fitted T-shirt and the same jeans she had worn to my place the other night. I couldn’t help but stare at the way her curves filled the denim, or the way her hip popped when she leaned against the counter.
Why was she so mad at me? I thought about the kiss and the way it had tasted of her and the rain. Her skin had been cold and soft beneath my fingers, and my entire body burned under the drops, desperate to touch her.
Are you going to come inside?
No.
I sighed, remembering the way the smile had slipped from her face. Fuck.
Simone’s laugh pulled me from my stupor, and when she slipped past me once again to get to the register, I threw my hands up in frustration I couldn’t mask. She was being ridiculous. I would tell her that, but it wouldn’t end well for me if I did. I followed her to the register anyway. “Why are you ignoring me?”
She turned away from me, casually walking back to Rudy as if she didn’t hear me and setting his change on the counter. The smile she had painted on her face for the customer slipped slightly when she turned around, but when Auston caught her gaze, she put it back.
“You okay, Simone?” he asked her, gently putting his hand on her shoulder. He looked partially concerned and mostly confused.
She ran her hand through the loose strands of hair, flashing a million-dollar grin that caused the butterflies in my stomach to go straight for my throat. “I’m great,” she said, pretending to ignore the reason for his asking.
“You sure about that?” I asked, chiming in and wiping the smile from her face before Auston could even raise his hand halfway to signal me not to interject.
As expected, Simone rolled her eyes and closed her mouth without another word. She turned to the side, facing Auston, and slipped between us. “I’m going to go help Sky,” she said, storming away.
“Okay, seriously, what did you do?” he asked me, a frustrated filter in his tone.
I shrugged. “Nothing. I don’t know what her deal is. She just hates me, I guess.”
“You’re impossible.” Auston was angry when he walked away, and I sucked in a deep breath.
I thought about the way her front door had closed and the way I considered opening it up and rushing in after her. I should have. I never should’ve gotten in my car and left. Simone felt rejected, when after the last couple of days, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d left because I thought she wanted me to. She wanted no strings attached.
I gripped my hair and tugged until it stung at the roots. “Fuck me,” I groaned quietly, storming across the bar and back to the storage closet where she was helping Sky gather cases of beer.
I walked in, locking eyes with Sky and jerking my head to the side, instructing her to leave. She chuckled with an I-told-you-so glimmer in her smirk. When she was gone, I slammed the door to the closet shut, causing Simone to jump. She gasped, and I felt the sound in my core.
“What?” I asked her, my voice harsh.
She cocked her head, determined to show me she was equally stubborn. “You’re the one that cornered me in here. What yourself.”
When she grabbed a box and moved towards the door, I stepped back, putting my foot against it and blocking the handle. “Don’t give me that. Why are you ignoring me?” My voice softened, and I reached out towards her. She stepped back, dodging my hand.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, reaching past me for the handle.
I wrapped my hand around her wrist gently, but firm enough to earn me a glare from her green eyes. “Of course it matters.” She looked at me, and I searched her eyes as if they’d give me an answer. I already knew it, though. She felt rejected.
“Why? You can’t stand me. Remember?” Tears welled in her eyes when she said it, and my conversation with Ash the day before smacked me across the face.
I scrambled forward, putting my hands on her shoulders. “You heard that? Where were…” I paused to shake my head. “You didn’t hear that right.”
“You said it pretty clearly, Logan.” She sniffled. Her shoulders sagged, and all the stubborn confidence she had been exuding since she walked into the bar rolled from her.
I shook my head, grabbing the case of beer from her hand and setting it on the ground beside us before I grabbed her face between my hands and forced her to look at me. She still tugged, trying to pull her body back. She stared down, refusing to meet my eyes. When a tear dripped from her eyelash and traced a line down her cheek, my stomach sank.
“No. What? You heard that wrong.” I stepped towards her, disappointed when she took a small, mirrored step back to avoid being any closer. “Sweetheart, let me explain.”
