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“Exactly what I just said.”
“You did a good deed that cost you something important to you, strictly because you could. That’s what you’re saying?”
I gulp and shrug. “Yeah.”
“Then explain to me why he got your mercy, and I got your torture from the moment I met you. The first thing you ever said to me was, ‘Nice shirt. Does it come in women’s?’ How come Kalen got this other side of you when I didn’t?” Her voice cracks, but she holds it together to add the stinger, “Was I just that special?”
I want to say yes, in every way imaginable.
But she’s close to something she doesn’t want to do, and I will stop her from it. June would hate herself forever if she cried in front of me. She has too much pride for that. I have to redirect her, and the fastest way to do that is to be the arrogant asshole she thinks I am.
But just in case she needs to wipe a tear, I turn my back to her again. I slip off my tuxedo coat and drape it over the back of the desk chair long enough for her to straighten herself up, and tell her, “I tormented you and became your nightmare fuel. I made you hate school, hate life, too, I’m sure. With a single sentence, I ruined every moment between us. But for me, it was … any other day.” I give a half shrug as I turn to her. “You weren’t special, June. You were just another target.”
Her tears have cleared. The rage is back. Good. She can hate me as much as she wants. She always has. But at least she won’t hate herself in the morning.
“You’re lying again.”
“I am not?—"
“Yes, you are.”
“This conversation will get us nowhere fast.”
She huffs a laugh. “We weren’t going anywhere, anyway.”
A shameful fact. I shouldn’t be trading barbs with her or dodging questions. I should be seducing her. Isn’t that the point of all this? But I can’t do that. She’s not just some woman to seduce and disregard. She’s June. The girl I crushed on for years. The woman I wanted in college. How could I just fuck her and leave her behind like all the rest?
So, I muster an excuse to keep her here. “Are you hungry?”
“What?”
“We’re not going anywhere, as you pointed out, and I’m famished. Everything is included in your asking price, so it’s on me, so to speak.” I smirk at her. “Let me buy you breakfast.”
She laughs once, incredulously. “This has got to be the weirdest prank you have ever pulled.”
“What?”
“Why do you think I brought up the stuff with Kalen? Besides proving my point that you actually knew what you were doing back then, I wanted to get it out there, in case this is all being broadcast online.”
I grin. Can’t help it. “Clever girl.”
“So, it is?—"
“No. I’m just impressed that you thought to do that. Telling the one thing that could have ruined my reputation as the class jerk … well done. But this isn’t being broadcast, and it’s not some over-the-top, elaborate hoax to embarrass you, June. This is just a night brought on by strange coincidences.”
I want to ask how she afforded the ticket to the fundraiser in the first place. It’s very exclusive, and obviously, she didn’t bring a date or she wouldn’t be here with me now. But if I ask anything about money, she’ll get even more pissed off, and not the good kind.
“So, breakfast?”
“Sure. I could eat.” But her brow furrows in suspicion.
That’s fine. I can work with suspicion. I call down and order whatever normal people eat for breakfast. June doesn’t seem the type to enjoy my usual protein shake and power bar combo for breakfast. Especially when she adds, “And French toast, too.”
“You got it.” I add that, two bottles of champagne, and hang up, content that she’ll at least stay for breakfast.
“Did you order all of that to see me stuff myself?”
I laugh and shake my head. “I ordered all of that because I like variety.”
