“What the fuck?” Adalee says, spotting him immediately. He steps into the diner and his eyes scour the place until he sees what he’s looking for.
Me.
And fuck, if the way he’s eyeing me doesn’t make my panties get totally, completely wet.
It’s totally not okay to be attracted to an asshole like Gavin. It’s just not. I don’t need someone like him in my life, and I think I made that pretty clear to him today.
But my body didn’t get the memo somehow, and it’s still reeling. I felt his cock against me when we were in the hall. I know exactly what Gavin thinks about me. He might not be willing to admit it to anyone, least of all himself, but he was affected by what happened between us.
He liked it.
If I had to guess, I’d say he fucking craved it.
He marches toward me, friends in tow, and stops right beside our table. I don’t look up at him at all. Instead, I reach for one of my chicken tenders, and I break it in half. I pop a piece into my mouth and start to chew, focusing completely on my plate.
“What are you doing here?” Karen says. She’s not going to shy away from him.
“I need to talk to Emilia.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to you,” Adalee says.
“Emilia,” Gavin says, ignoring them both. I can feel his eyes burning into the side of my head. What the hell does he want? And why is he here?
I shake my head.
I’m not going to talk to him. I can totally be strong. I can. I do not need him to do this to me today. I don’t need him to come talk to me and try to worm his way back into my life. As far as I’m concerned, Gavin Reynolds is dead to me.
“Emilia Riley,” he says my full name this time, trying again, but I just pop the other half of my chicken tender into my mouth and continue to pretend that I’m not here. Am I being stupid and childish? Yes. It’s only because I don’t trust myself around him. Gavin is a dick, but if I look at him and see that he’s hurt or sad or lonely, I’m going to fucking melt.
I can’t say not to him, and I despite that about myself.
The waitress seems to notice the commotion at our table and starts to walk over. One of Gavin’s friends hits his shoulder, and they all head back out of the diner. Gavin doesn’t leave yet, though. Instead, he keeps looking at me.
“Meet me tonight at seven,” he says. “You know where.”
Chapter 4
Gavin
I HOPE SHE REMEMBERS.
She has to.
“What the hell was that about?” Jared asks when we leave the diner.
“Yeah,” Timothy shakes his head. “Kind of a waste of time. We walked all the way over and we didn’t even get food.”
“Stop thinking with your stomach,” I tell him.
“Better than thinking with my dick,” he mutters.
We walk down the sidewalk and head back toward Crescent Academy. The walk won’t take long, but it’s bitter because of the way the interaction went.
It could have gone better.
Shit.
My entire life could have gone better, but I’m too much of a dick for that. My father wasn’t the best role model, but he did his best. At least, I always thought he did. Now, I’m not so sure. I’ve hurt Emilia in so many ways and sometimes, it’s hard for me to remember that maybe she thinks she’s a victim, too.