If I can.
“I’m not…”
“Don’t want to talk about yourself? Fine. I get it. Not gonna talk about myself either,” I tell him. “So… who do you want to talk about?”
His nostrils flare, and he crosses his arms. Why are they all so muscular and hot? They look more like college guys, all of the Mutineers. I can't say I gave much thought about whether or not tats are hot before meeting Shane, but they are. He's hot. There's something dark and mysterious about him, and that should make me want to run away as fast as possible. My father is all things dark.
But for as much bravado as Shane has, I don’t think he’s like my father at all.
But I also can’t possibly be a fool. This is a dangerous game I’m playing, and maybe I should just walk away. Ignore the Mutineers. Brett is way too tethered to my old way of life. Honestly, he kind of reminds me of that guy my father had me sleep with. Not that I’m going to sleep with Brett. I won’t. I’m not desperate enough for that.
That guy I slept with? I hadn't any regrets about walking away from him. He contacted me a few times, tried to get me to be with him despite his father making it very clear that he had to stay away from me, that I was bad news.
Me? Bad news? That’s laughable.
But I don’t know. I just… The Mutineers freak me out. They’re all damaged in their own way, I think, and I know all about damage. I’m damaged goods myself.
And my life feels like it’s spinning out of control, but that doesn’t mean I need to try to fix the bad boys. They can go on living their destructive lives as I try to break free of the mold and move ahead with my life and get on the straight and narrow.
Shane hasn’t said anything at all, and the silence is eating away at me to the point that I have to say something.
“I ran into Corey at the hospital,” I blurt out.
“That’s not a surprise,” Shane says.
“Why is that?”
“His sister has cancer.”