Brody glanced at me, and heat burned in my cheeks. He wasn’t about to out our weird little battle of wills to everyone, was he? Tell my friends the embarrassing rules he’d decided to impose on me so I’d be good enough, and less fucked-up enough not to embarrass the Sinclair family name?
I shot to my feet, sending Nick’s arm flying.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” I asked Brody.
He straightened up and nodded to me. “Anytime, cheer captain.” He leaned even more against the side of the booth, making himself comfortable. “What do you want to talk about?”
“In private. Can I talk to you in private?” I clarified.
I waited until Nick got out of the booth and followed, grabbing Brody by the arm and tugging him toward the corridor that led to the bathrooms.
“Is everything okay?” Nick asked behind us.
“Everything is fine! Be right back!”
I turned the corner, Brody hot on my heels.
“You want to leave, don’t you? But you don’t want to make a scene? Don’t worry, I’ll do it for you,” Brody was saying.
I pulled him down the hall and then dropped his arm.
I turned around and fixed him with a glare.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Brody snorted. “Meeting Marcus. What did it look like?”
“Was this seriously Marcus’ idea? You haven’t put a tracker somewhere on me?” I asked, suspicious as hell.
Brody considered my words, tipping his head to the side. “No, but damn, that’s a good idea.”
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned him.
He shrugged. “Stop going out with losers. It’s beneath you.”
I scoffed, my face getting hot again, but it didn’t feel like anger or embarrassment.
“Right, like I’m such a catch—don’t answer that.” I held a finger up to stop him from speaking. “You need to go; you’re making it awkward.”
“That bastard makes himself awkward. If I’d known he was the guy you were going on the date with, I never would have allowed it.”
“Allowed it?” I repeated, anger flushing every other emotion from me. “You’re not my dad, Brody.”
“I know,” he snapped in return.
“You’re not my brother either,” I reminded him.
He barked out a laugh. “I’m painfully aware, but I’m still in charge of you, heathen, and I say this date is over.”
He walked me backward until the wall met my back, looking down at me with the expression of a man who was used to having his orders followed.
“No, it’s not,” I heard myself say. It didn’t matter anymore that I’d already been counting down the minutes until I could make my excuses and leave. No, that had already been forgotten. Now, all that mattered was showing Brody that he couldn’t boss me around and control my life this much. If he pushed me too far, I’d snap.
“Yes, it is,” Brody continued in that infuriatingly calm and certain tone he had.
I shook my head and glared at him as he grabbed my chin to change my headshaking to nodding.
I slapped his hand away, or tried to, but his fingers were made of steel. He kept my face captive and tilted it up until he filled my entire vision.
