“I did.”
She nods like she understands. “What did you do?”
“I just want to go to bed,” I say.
“Okay, at least let me drive you home.”
“No, it’s fine. If you give me some clothes, I’ll run.”
Tina starts shaking her head. “It’s at least fifteen minutes by car to yours.”
“I need to run,” I tell her.
Tina knows she can’t argue with me. So, she simply nods and waves me inside. I wait at the door and when she returns she’s holding her running clothes. I drop the blanket and start sliding them on. She then hands me her runners, lucky for me we are about the same size. They are a tad loose, but I do the shoelaces up extra tight in hopes I won’t hurt my ankle or get a blister.
“I can drive you,” she offers again.
I fix my hair, tying it back, and shake my head. “No.”
She hands me my spare key. “Sydney said he was there.” Tina’s voice is low.
“Yep,” is all I answer.
“I’ve told her when it comes to you, she isn’t allowed to tell him anything.”
I don’t reply to that because Sydney did the opposite and I can’t ask Tina to not speak about certain subjects around her girlfriend, afraid of what she might say to him.
“Thea, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lie.
I hate that he rattles me so much. My nerves are shot all to hell, and I can’t seem to stay still. I need to run, to somehow get him out of my system.
I wish I’d never met him.
The next day, Tina comes over and in her hand are my house keys and cell.
“You got them back?” I ask her, somewhat surprised.
“Yes.” She pushes past me into the house. “Derek filled me in. He feels guilty about everything… as he damn well should.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “He’s too young for you.”
“He isn’t that much younger,” I say, defending him.
“He likes to play, do reckless shit,” she points out. “You don’t. You like…” I know what she was about to say, but she pauses and shakes her head instead.
“Atlas…” I finish for her.
“No, I wasn’t going to say that. But I think your type has changed, don’t you?”
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “He told me I loved him last night,” I confess.
“Do you?” she asks.
I shrug. “I think I could have, even if I didn’t want to,” I answer back. “But I don’t know.”
“Do you want to know what I think?”
“No.” I chuckle. “Sure,” I say with a heavy breath waiting for what might come from her mouth.
“I think no other man has made you feel so many mixed emotions before, and that you are confused. I think you were starting to fall for him, even if you fought it at every step. And I’ve never seen you fall for anyone the way you did for Atlas.”
“He’s just one man,” I say.
“A man you could love, even when you don’t want to.” She huffs, and I look back to her. “If it’s any consolation, I’m pretty sure he felt the same way.”
“He blames me for what happened.”
“Yeah, well, he’s a dick.” She laughs. We walk into the living room, and she sits opposite me. “Enough about the dick, what about me? Hit me with your questions.”
My eyes go wide, and then I smile. “Okay, well… how did it happen?”
“Sydney asked me out. I may have seen Atlas and let words fly from my mouth that I shouldn’t have.” She bites her lip. “He looked like shit for a few weeks. Sydney said he locked himself in his office.”
“His cousin died,” I point out.
She shrugs. “Yep, but I don’t think that’s the only reason for his downturn.”
I don’t want to know anymore, so I stay quiet, and she changes the subject.
“Have you thought about what I said? About you opening your own online clothing store?”
I have thought about it, last night when I was running.
“Oh, gosh, you’re smiling. You did think about it, right?”
“Just ideas.”
“Do it! You have all the contacts to make it happen for you. You can do it, I have faith in you.”
“Maybe.”
Derek’s at my door, his hands in his pockets as he looks up at me.
“You probably don’t want to see me…” he says, then continues, “… but I’ve come to apologize. I thought I could impress you. Take you out of your comfort zone. You seemed a bit uptight that night.”
“It’s okay, Derek, I did have fun. Until…” I let the words hang out there.
He smirks. “‘Till we got arrested,” he says, then scratches his head. “Yeah, about that, I’m so, so, sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?”
“Nothing, I’m fine. I swear.” I hold up my hands.
“Tina told me I had to do something, or else she’d fire me,” he tells me.
I chuckle at his choice of words and the look of chagrin on his face.