Girls like me? The only person that could make me feel worse about myself than I could was Patrick. His insults had always hurt me the most. I thought maybe it would be easier to hear now that I wasn't in love with him. But it still hurt. Lots of people were staring at us now. Mason had invited me to this extravagant thing. And Patrick was right. I didn't belong here. I was embarrassing Mason and myself.
I opened my mouth to say something, but there was nothing left to say. I just needed to get out of there. I turned around and ran toward the exit.
Chapter 40
Mason
Shit. I ran after Bee.
"This isn't over!" Patrick yelled.
Yeah it is, asshole. I threw open the doors and spotted her down the hallway. "Bee."
She kept running.
"Bee!" I quickly caught up to her. "Stop."
She ignored me.
"Just stop." I got in front of her and grabbed both her arms. There were tears streaming down her cheeks. I had a strange tightness in my chest as she looked up at me. I didn't want to see her cry. It hurt me to see her like this. "Bee." I wiped away her tears with my thumb. "Hey, it's okay."
"Mason, I'm so sorry." She looked embarrassed. But she didn't have anything to be embarrassed about. Patrick was a dick. And now everyone else knew he was too.
"There's nothing to be sorry about." I wiped her tears away again. "Please don't cry." I pulled her against my chest. It was strange holding her like this. I let my fingers run through her hair. "It's okay." I said. It may have been strange, but I liked it. I liked how small she felt in my arms. And I liked that she wanted me when she was upset. I wanted to be the one she turned to. I wanted to protect her.
I looked down at the top of her head. "My place is only a few minutes away."
She lifted her head and looked up at me.
God she was beautiful. Even when she cried she was beautiful. I wiped away her tears again with my thumb.
"Can you take me home?"
I felt the night I had planned slipping away. But I'd give her whatever she wanted to get her to stop crying. I hated seeing her like this. "Of course." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called my driver. Bee let me wrap my arm around her as we made our way outside. The car was already waiting out front. I wrapped Bee's coat around her shoulders. If I had any idea that Patrick was going to be at the gala, I would have planned something else.
But I didn't dislike the position I was in. Having Bee cling to me like I was her lifeline was something I had never experienced before. When I sat down in the car, she put her head on my shoulder.
Maybe this was more than I was letting myself believe. Maybe this was what I really wanted. And not just the tight feeling in my chest. Her. I wanted her. And I didn't wa
nt to just sleep with her. I wanted this.
She lifted her head and looked up at me. She had stopped crying. "I'm so sorry, Mason. Before Patrick showed up, tonight was so...perfect."
I smiled.
She sat up. "I'm sorry that you had to see that. I'm so embarrassed. And I embarrassed you in front of all your friends..."
"You didn't embarrass me. I don't think you could embarrass me if you tried. You were the most beautiful girl there. Everyone else was envious of me."
"Yeah, right."
"I'm usually right."
She laughed. "I just hope I didn't ruin your whole evening."
"All I cared about doing tonight was hanging out with you. Besides, the night isn't over yet."
She looked down at her lap.