“If I’m not, I feel . . . helpless.” I picked at something on the table with my free hand, while the other one still sat atop his.
“Is that why you don’t like people touching you?”
My eyes darted up to his. “What do you mean?”
“Sometimes you flinch. Not with me, I mean. But for instance, that jerk-off earlier.”
“Who, Steve?”
“Don’t say that name to me again, all right? Yes, him.”
This way David had of figuring me out, I didn’t know if it bothered me. It was as if I had no secrets from him, and there was nobody in my life that I let get away with that. “I just don’t like when strangers touch me. That’s not unusual.”
“Well, might it have something to do with wanting to be in control all the time? Or even what happened that night?”
“I don’t think I want to talk about this,” I said, trying my best to sound indignant.
He looked disappointed but nodded. “Do you ever read what you wrote as a kid?”
“She destroyed everything.”
His expression turned horrified. “Your mom?”
I shrugged. “After we left. It was childish stuff anyway.”
“I refuse to believe that.”
“But it’s true.” I smiled warmly. “I bet you were a perfect kid.”
He took a moment to respond. “I was.”
I laughed.
With a smile, he shook his head. “I was pretty good, but I had my moments.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I would sometimes get overly excited about the things or the people I loved.”
“You’re being vague.”
He narrowed his eyes at me playfully. “I was good. I got straight A’s, and I didn’t party too much because I played sports. But I can be a little hotheaded, and it was harder for me to control as a kid.”
“You don’t say,” I responded without thinking.
He looked at me a second and then raised his brows. “You might not believe me, but I’m usually pretty levelheaded. I hate bullshit, and I don’t let it get to me. Certain things just set me off, especially when I feel . . . protective or possessive of something.”
“Something?”
“Or someone.”
“Did it ever get you into trouble?” I asked.
“I got into a couple fights, yeah. One almost landed me in juvie.”
Juvenile hall? David had a temper, but he’d also seemed pretty straight-edged. I hadn’t expected any serious consequences. I blinked at him. “Over what?”
“That particular one happened at school when this guy called Jessa abitch. I got lucky, though. His parents were pretty fair and dropped the charges. I think they were secretly happy that I laid him out, because he was an asshole.”
