She narrowed her gaze. “Let’s say for the sake of argument you’re telling the truth; why work so hard to keep other people from speaking to me either? You’ve been a dick to both Kester and Tarin. You’ve been like the gatekeeper, Stu. Irrationally warding off anyone who dares come near me.”
He ran a hand over his head, threading his fingers in his hair and tugging on it. “Also a dick move. I’ll stop.”
She blinked at him. “That’s it? You’ll stop? Case closed?”
“Yep.” He finally reached for the coffee and took a sip. “Thanks for the coffee. I haven’t had a chance to make it to the cafeteria yet today.” He opened the muffins next and inhaled deeply. “Cinnamon is my favorite.”
Ariel reached up and yanked the bag out of his hand, setting it aside. “No.”
“No, what?” He widened his gaze as if shocked.
“No, I won’t accept your weird apology and move on.”
“Why the hell not?”
She gripped her coffee so tight it was a wonder the cup didn’t break. “Because you’re lying and hiding something and you won’t be the only one who gets hurt when you decide to see reason. At least three other people will too. So, my answer is no. I won’t drop it and move on and ignore you.”
“You don’t have a choice,” he stated, casually taking another sip of his coffee as if he were unaffected by this conversation.
“Oh, yes I do. I have plenty of choices. And my decision is that everyone will wait for you to catch up.” She leaned back and crossed her arms, finally releasing the coffee. Spine straight, chin held high.
He flinched and lifted a brow. “That’s insane, Ariel.”
She shrugged. “No more insane than you pretending you don’t have a stake in this game. Hiding in your room or taking on more hours and rarely returning to the compound so you don’t have to face me or anyone else.”
He groaned and dropped his face, shoulders slumping.
Good. She wanted to fist pump. Now was a good time to keep pushing. “I know you don’t like Tarin for some reason, but don’t even try to convince me he’s the reason you won’t talk to me. You liked me and started holding me at arm’s length before I even met Tarin.”
She opened the bag of muffins as if they weren’t having the most important discussion of her life. She couldn’t taste the huge bite she took, but she felt like she’d won a great battle with her actions. She even pushed the other one toward him, swallowed, and said, “Muffin?”
He lifted his gaze to stare at her. “Ariel…” he warned.
She pointed at him. “That. That tone. Stop using it. Like you’re warning me of some impending punishment you’re going to dole out if I don’t cow to your wishes.” She took another bite, chewed, swallowed. Still no taste buds, unless sand was a flavor.
“Grrr. You’re an exasperating woman.”
She grinned. “At least you’re admitting I’m a woman. I call that a win.” Another bite. More chewing. More swallowing sand.
Stu picked at the corner of his muffin but didn’t pick it up.
He shook his head. “There’s no winning here, babe. None. Move on. Set up an arrangement with Kester and Tarin and whoever else you want. Do you need this apartment? I can move out. I’ll find somewhere else to bunk so I won’t be in the way. You and Tarin can move in here with Kester.”
She shrugged. “Not necessary. If you truly don’t care who I have sex with then it won’t bother you to listen to me fucking in the other room.” She was damn proud of her spine.
He winced. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” She lifted a brow.
“Cuss. You learned the word fuck like three months ago, probably from me. It sounds awkward coming from your pretty mouth. Don’t use it.”
“Fuck? You don’t want me to say fuck around you? Or you don’t want me to fuck around you? I’m confused.”
He growled. “You’re not confused, babe. You’re antagonizing me. And it’s not going to work.”
“Mmm.” Twice he’d called her babe. She felt like the sun was shining on her. He could continue to deny her all he wanted, but she intended to wear him down. She meant what she’d said about not sleeping with the other guys. She wasn’t leaving Stu behind. They would all wait for him.
He groaned again, rolling his eyes.