“When did you convince Jade to share her location with you?”
“That’s irrelevant, but when you went to New York with her. So, forgive me for being upset that my girlfriend is out gallivanting around acting like some groupie to a no-name band that probably isn’t good enough to make it big.”
“I’m not some groupie. And Jade asked me for a ride home. I was with my sister.”
“Yeah… Not gonna believe that one. You would have been back before me if she only needed a ride. You hung out there. With those guys.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Elijah shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, nothing.”
I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as the world around me snapped into crystal clear focus. “If you have something to say, just say it. Stop dancing around the subject. Be direct for once in your life.”
Elijah turned his body toward me, and I could see his patience breaking as well. The muscles surrounding his mouth tightened into a scowl. He ran a hand through his already tousled hair, and his deep blue gaze never left mine. “Do you think it’s funny if people around town get the idea you are cheating on me?”
“Why would they think that? Because I’m clearly not. I’m too busy here, with you, arguing with all your personalities. I’ve got plenty on my plate.”
“So now you’re not even taking this seriously anymore? You’re the one that wanted to talk.”
“Yeah, about why you were upset. Not about somepossibility of what other people may assume. Especially something so stupid.”
“But after how you acted last night, and now you’re hanging out with some band. You might as well stand up in the middle of King Street and yell, ‘I’m cheating on my boyfriend.’”
“Are you kidding me right now? This is a joke, right? You’re not seriously suggesting I’m trying to cheat.”
Elijah tilted his head to the side with a narrowed gaze. “I don’t know, Cadence. You tell me.”
My mouth opened in astonishment. It felt as if he’d taken a dull knife and shoved it into the gaping hole he’d created in my chest with his insecurities and the perfectionism he held me to.
My head pounded from the ridiculousness of this argument.
For the second time in 24 hours, someone had rendered me speechless.
Elijah stood, his body tight and stiff as he looked down at me. “I’ve got work to do. I don’t have time for this.”
He picked up his laptop, white-knuckling it as he headed upstairs into his office.
What. The. Fuck. Just. Happened?
I refused to tiptoe around my home like I was walking on eggshells. Afraid that at any moment, Elijah would subject me to his wrath simply for breathing the wrong way. So, I showered and put myself together for the day.
We were in the middle of the Carolina summer heat and the humidity was its own version of Hell. Which meant you wore waterproof mascara if you didn’t want yourface to look like it was melting and kept your hair up. I always went the extra mile and added a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes.
I was still angry, the uneasiness burrowing into my bones. I didn’t have it in me to talk to Elijah, so I slipped on my sandals, grabbed my keys off the antique entrance table, and left.
When I got into the driver’s seat of my Jeep, I looked up into my rearview mirror as I waited for the engine to idle down.
Somehow, I hadn’t noticed Damien had moved it as I drove home last night. Nothing else had been moved beside the seat position. It made sense since he was at least a foot taller than me. I smiled to myself as I moved the mirror to where I liked it.
I rolled the windows down, letting the fresh, crisp morning air fill me.
Rebel Rebellion’s CD lay nestled in my purse from the night out with Jade all those weeks ago, so I grabbed it from the passenger seat and slid it into the player.
My smile widened as I threw my seatbelt off and opened the door to stand on the frame. I unhooked the latches on the freedom tops and placed them inside our garage.
It wasn’t exactly topless, but close enough right now. I couldn’t get the hard top off by myself, and asking Elijah was out of the question.
I dreamed of one day owning a garage with a lift for the Jeep hardtop so I could easily remove it and put it back on without help whenever I got the urge.
