“Try not to do that.”
“What?”
“Don’t pry into my life. What I do is none of your concern,” he commanded.
“Are you really that scared of what I might find out?” My provocation had the potential to irritate him even more because he pushed me on the bed, this time more vehemently, forcing me to lie down under him.
“I don’t give a flying fuck. If I find out that you’re still poking around, you’ll pay for it, do you understand that?” he threatened, overpowering me. I’d just confided in him, and he responded by threatening me like this? I was so stupid.
“I don’t give a fuck about you, Hunter. Don’t flatter yourself.” I exhaled with self-confidence that shattered every time he was anywhere near me.
His lips breathed onto mine, leaving me little room to think of something smart to say. I had to close my eyes.
I asked myself why I behaved that way. I liked Will, not him. Will was sensitive, kind, and being around him made me feel calm. Sure, there were some moments of inconsistency that made me doubt his interest in me, but I didn’t like James at all, and being near him agitated me.
“Your ways with the ladies leave little to be desired, Hunter,” I whispered, with a jolt of courage. I tried to push him off with all my strength, but my hands were powerless against his rock-hard chest.
“It’s not like me to threaten girls because they don’t ask me all these questions like you do. They keep quiet.”
“That would never happen with me,” I murmured at the exact same time that he was getting even closer to my face. We noticed that we stopped arguing. We looked at each other for a few seconds.
“What the fuck got into your head?” he exclaimed, irritated, jumping up. I sat up and turned my head away from him so he wouldn’t see my flushed cheeks.
“What are you talking about?”
“Shouldn’t you be at Will’s?” His voice was gruff and raspy like sandpaper, somber like the night.
I saw him run his fingers through his hair as if that could alleviate the tension.
“No, I should get home.”
I got up robotically, and he did the same. I turned around instinctively once I got to the door.
“You’re lucky to have him. Jasper, I mean.”
James put his hands in his tracksuit pants pockets and nodded.
“Yeah.”
“And maybe he’s lucky to have you,” I added.
“Did Snow White have to come on the scene to tell me that?” He smiled.
I shook my head, but I felt every muscle in my face heat up. “I’m heading out. Bye.”
“June.”
I barely turned, and my head went spinning. It was a potent, almost all-encompassing sensation. His eyes could swallow me up. They were so dense and deep that they seemed like I could fall into them.
“I know I can be an asshole.”
Maybe for the sake of everyone it’s better that you keep going.“Thank you,” I concluded under my breath.
The sense of emptiness that was gripping my chest quickly filled the rest of it. They were unknown, confusing emotions. But then I recognized one. Happiness.
41
June
