“You don’t have-”
“Sweetheart…” He cupped my face again. “There’s no way I can sit across the room and watch him touch you, not after…”
I nodded, solemnly. I didn’t understand completely but I was grateful.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t look back at him as I walked out. If I did, I wouldn’t have left that room.
I opened the door, looked both ways and went over to the ladies’ bathroom.
It wasn’t until I saw my swollen lips and hair that what was a mess that I realized what I’d done. How had I allowed myself to get caught up in Ty? With Max only in the next room?
Max was right. I was a bad person. This just confirmed it.
But if this was what it felt like to be bad, then I didn’t want to be good because right now, I felt more alive than I ever had.
I patted my hair into submission as best I could, but there was only so much I could do with the frizz ball. The cold water that I splashed on my face helped a little, but I still felt like it was all a dream.
My hand touched my swollen lips. They tingled, confirming that it hadn’t been a dream. Ty had kissed me. His soft, full, lips had caressed mine, I swear I could still feel his hand on my butt.
“Are you Kay?” I jumped at the voice. My hand dropped from my face as I stared at the woman in the mirror.
“Err.. Yes.”
“Your boyfriend is waiting outside.” She pointed back at the door then closed the stall door behind her.
I took a deep breath, checked my face for any obvious signs of what had just happened and opened the door.
Max stood there, his back against the closet door. His face was shadowed by the low lights, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he watched me.
“What the fuck took so long?” he gritted out. I swallowed, my mouth dry.
“Well?” He moved off the door.
I stepped back out of instinct. His eyes flashed, a smirk lifted the sides of his mouth.
He wouldn’t do anything here, not with all these people about.
“You think you can get away from me?”
“I…I’m sorry.” His hand came out lightning fast, gripped my arm and pushed me against the wall.
I couldn’t help but compare the way he touched me with the way Ty touched me. When Ty touched me, I felt alive, like I was living for the first time. When Max touched me, my stomach rolled.
“You think you can just walk away from me?”
“No-”
“Without asking first?”
“I-” His hand moved from my arm, I felt relief for a brief second. That disappeared as his hand wrapped round my throat.
“You need to be corrected.” He shook his head. “When will you learn?”
His eyes were almost black; I couldn’t see any of the green.
His hand tightened and I gripped his arm, willing him to let go. The edges of my vision turned black. If he didn’t let go soon I’d pass out.