It’s stupid, but when he doesn’t grab my ass like he did last night, a little disappointment rolls through me.
Once I’m in, he closes the door behind me before marching back around the hood.
He’s still silent as he pulls out of the space and makes his way back to the road.
“There’s a coffee there for you. It’s probably cold by now, seeing as I bought it at the coffee shop by where I thought you lived.”
Regret floods through my veins.
“Thank you, b-but I can’t drink co?—”
“It’s decaf.”
A weird laugh-sob noise erupts as I reach for it.
“Thank you, that was incredibly thoughtful.”
“Mmm,” he mumbles.
I take a sip. It doesn’t matter that it’s lukewarm or that there is no caffeine; it still tastes incredibly good.
“I’m sorry for lying to you.”
“Why did you?” he asks coolly.
I glance over, hating how tightly he’s gripping the wheel, and when I get to his profile, I find a tic in his jaw that wasn’t there last night.
“Shame,” I confess. “I don’t want you to think less of me.”
“And you think lying is the way to go about that?”
“I panicked,” I explain. “This…” I wave my arm out, gesturing to the building we’re driving away from. “I hate that I’ve made a stupid decision that has put me here. I’m embarrassed, and I’m ashamed. But it was either give up my apartment or lose my salon, and that wasn’t happening, so?—”
“The salon is yours?” he asks, interrupting me.
“Uh…yeah,” I agree before taking another sip of coffee.
“Shit. I thought…I thought you just worked there.”
“Well, I do work there. And I don’t make a show of owning it. I’m not like some people who like to live their lives with everyone watching.”
“Ouch.”
“That wasn’t meant to be a dig at you.”
“Sure it wasn’t.”
“It wasn’t. I’m not throwing shade on people who choose to live their lives that way, I just…don’t.”
“Maybe not personally, but you should be loud as fuck about your salon. It’s pretty incredible.”
My head swivels to stare at him.
“What?”
“Your salon. The Bea Hive,” he adds quietly as if he’s figuring it out now. “It’s impressive. You should be proud and shouting it from the rooftops.”
“I am proud. It’s everything I always dreamed of.”
