“I’m an asshole.”
“You are an asshole, no argument.”
I raised my face, laughing in spite of myself. “Give me your phone.”
He let me go to dig his phone from his pocket, swiped his thumb on the screen to turn it on, then handed it over. At the top was a notification for a text.
Abby:It was so good to see you on Wed.
Okay. That didn’t feel great to see, but it wasn’t my business. I went to his contacts and typed in my name. Another text came in.
Abby:I miss you too, you know.
Too? Mmhmm. She probably wouldn’t miss him if she knew where his tongue had just been.
Abby:Come over tonight. We should talk. Or not. We don’t have to talk. My bed is cold, baby.
I tossed his phone at him, making him scramble to catch it. “My number’s in there. You should check your texts, dude. Your girlfriend’s all kinds of thirsty.”
He caught my arm before I could leave, holding me while he read his texts. I tapped my foot impatiently in the grass, wishing I was the size of my attitude. I would have busted free with just my little pinkie as a weapon.
Tucking his phone away, he slipped his hand around mine and began walking. Since I was attached to him, I had to go with him.
“Um—”
“I’m taking you to the dorm,” he gritted out.
“I know where it is.”
“Stop fighting me. I had you soft for a minute, Helen. You were kissing me back, wanting it like I did. Then it was gone. All that soft covered by spikes and metal.”
I tried to pull my hand away, even though it was futile. “You have a girlfriend.”
“I don’t.”
“Then you have a complication I’m not interested in being part of. I’ll take a ride from you if it’s still on the table, but I’m not going any deeper than that. If the ride’s off the table, tell me now so I can look up the bus schedule.”
His hand tightened around mine. “You know I wouldn’t do that.”
He didn’t deny he had a complication. But honestly, it was there in black and white. What was there to deny?
“Fine. I’ll accept the ride and be grateful for it. But I don’t want to walk through campus holding hands, I don’t want to be pressed up against buildings, and most importantly, I don’t want to be kissed. I made the mistake of opening that door last weekend. Now, I’m rectifying it. I’ve got way too much going on in my life to deal with your complications too.Waytoo much, Theodore.”
“Okay.” He didn’t let go of my hand.
“Okay what?” I wiggled my fingers, but it was a no go.
“Okay. I heard what you said. We’ll see.”
“What will we see?”
“We’ll see where this goes. Right now, I don’t agree. You can close the door all you want, but I have the fucking key, so expect me to open it right back up.”
I sighed, long and ragged. “Oh my fuck, you’re demented. You are, aren’t you? Did a screw get knocked loose when you were performing homoerotic acts disguised as a sport or have you always been this way?”
That made him snort. “You’re calling wrestling homoerotic?”
Turning my head to look at him, I raised my brows. “Come on, dude. I saw the video where the guy had his face right in the other guy’s boner. It was hot, and if you try to convince me, that’s not the point of wrestling, I’ll laugh. Plus, the outfits? Spandex, two young, fit guys grabbing each other? I’m not buying it.”