“I might have mentioned it.”
“Might have?”
“All right, I did.”
“Why?”
Because I didn’t like what he and Anker were saying. That a girl like you would never seriously date a guy like me.
Not going to say that.
Clarke cleared his throat. “Because we’re supposed to be dating. People need to think we are.”
“So that’s why you suggested we come here? To make this whole fake thing look real?”
“Well, we are supposed to be doing that, aren’t we? I mean that’s what we agreed to do.”
But this had nothing to do with that. If it were just to perpetuate this fake dating scheme, he could have taken her somewhere he didn’t have to drive over an hour to get to. He’d wanted to see her on the track, even if it was only karts. See if his instinct was right. And it was. She missed it.
“Look,” he said, “I didn’t have a good time either after Tilney showed up.”
“Then why did you stick around? You could have left. Tilney would have given me a ride back to my father’s.”
“I couldn’t leave you alone with him.”
“Why the hell not?”
I could tell her he was the douchebag that Naomi fell in love with, the one on that mountain. Why don’t I?
Because it doesn’t change the fact that I wasn’t there for Naomi and that I’m the one who jumped at the chance to go off the trail, knowing Niles was bound to follow me. It doesn’t change the fact that because of me, Niles hit that tree and was paralyzed.
“I just couldn’t. That’s all.”
She shook her head in exasperation. “Well, you just made things worse by sticking around.”
“It was him who suggested racing.”
“And you didn’t hesitate to jump at the chance, did you? The two of you going at each other so hard, there wasn’t room enough for me.”
She turned and began marching away from him. “Take me back to my father’s house so I can get my car.”
They couldn’t leave things like this. He couldn’t.
He took three long strides and grabbed Ceci around the waist from behind.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she cried.
He leaned down, placing his lips up against her ear. “Please, will you just wait? Hear me out.”
“I could call the police and have you arrested for assault.”
He let go, and she swung around.
“How would you like it if I did that to you?”
Don’t smile. Don’t smile.
But his lip twitched and there it was. “I might not mind it.”
