“Dexter, huh?”
“Richard, huh?”
“He’s a great guy.” I nod eagerly. “A real heart-on-his-sleeve type, you know?”
“Cut the crap, Amy.” Lewis frowns. “I told you to stick to the rules… What’re you doing acting all shady down some creepy back alley?”
“Shady? Dude, relax. I was just talking—that’s all. Are you stalking me, or something?”
“Dude, relax.” He smirks at me. “I come down this way all the time. Just to catch up with old friends, and stuff. Some coincidence, huh?”
I bristle at that. “So, youdidfollow me…”
“I forgot to give you something, so I turned around and went back to your place. That’s when I saw you get in your car and race off like there was some kind of emergency.”
A bunch of different feelings come crashing over me. I’m embarrassed I was so obvious. I’m mad at myself for not spotting him earlier. And the combination is lethal—seeing how he’s backed me into a corner, I have no choice but to play dirty.
“See you next semester,” I snap, taking a step back to my Pontiac.
“That’s not happening, Firebird.”
I can feel him on my heels, trying to get me to crack, and I fight the urge to whip around and kick him in the balls.Don’t make things worse than they already are.I’m so pissed that he rolled up here, and I’m even more pissed thathe’s back here in my space, when I’m trying so hard to keep it together.
“I want to talk about this,” he says, just as I’m fastening my seat belt.
I rev my engine. He’s smart enough not to stand in my way, at least, and I hit the road, bombing down the street as fast as I can, the radio turned up high.Fuck, this is the shittiest day!Am I trying to get myself fired from the Campus Drivers before I even get hired? This is classic Amy Hitman bullshit.
I drive the entire length and breadth of Sycamore Heights, flinching every time I catch sight of Lewis in my rearview mirror. He’s been on my tail since I pulled out of the warehouse, and though I’ve tried to shake him off three times now, he’s holding strong. Who am I kidding? I knew that if Ireallywanted to lose him, I’d have done so by now.I like having him nearby—that’s the truth, isn’t it? I’m basically fucked.
Two hours and a whole lot of energy and fuel later, and it’s time to call it quits. Night is falling, and I know I need to face the music. That’s what Lewis wants? That’s what he’s going to get.
I pull up outside my block and dart into the garage. My safe space. My sanctuary. The one place I feel like I could take him on—or that’s how Ishouldfeel, anyway. When he slides the door shut behind him, though, and his footsteps echo through the space, the knot in my throat tightens.
“Lewis!” I turn around to flash him my fakest smile.
He shoots me a dirty look. “Why am I getting the weirdest déjà vu?”
He’s thinking back to that Friday night, when we had a fight after the Worthington race. He has this uncanny ability to always be exactly in the wrong place at precisely the wrong time.
He stops in his tracks, creating space between us, and he’s so mad right now I can’t tell whether he’s keeping his distance for his safety or my own. I meet his eye, my knees almost buckling as a wave of lightheadedness washes over me. I suddenly don’t feel too good. We were heading in the right direction; I was earning back his trust. And I just fucked all that up. I need to show a little humility, I know. And so it’s time for me to do something I never do. Time for me to say I’m sorry.
“Listen, I’m—”
“I show you how to use an app, and you’re like, ‘Hey, I know—I should go fuck some shit up’? Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Talk about ruining the moment…
“Quit yelling at me!”
“Yelling?You push me to the fucking brink—do you get that?” he roars. “Everytime I try to trust you, you show me why I really, really shouldn’t.”
“I was just handling something for RJ,” I protest. “It’s not like I was robbing a bank!”
“You had your hands around some guy’s throat, Amy!”
“It was a mix-up, okay? I was just helping out!”
He shakes his head. “You can’t fuckingdothis anymore, okay? What part of that aren’t you getting? Why is it so hard for you to just be a normal girl?”
