“As much as I appreciate your input, neither of you have been in any relationship. Not once,” Emma said, and gave me a pointed stare. “If Caleb wanted to talk, he’d try to reach out to me and have a conversation, but he’s avoiding my texts and everything. I’ll kill him if he doesn’t attend your birthday party.”
“Oh, no,” I groaned, hiding my face in a pillow when I remembered it was the day after tomorrow.
“Oh, yes.” Summer grinned and joined us on the couch, wriggling herself between us and offering the bowl of popcorn. I took a handful. “Did you use the vibrator and had multiple Os?”
I choked and sputtered, but swallowed the food. Both of them were looking at me with wide eyes, and it made me flutter underneath their stare.
“I haven’t used it yet,” I said, squirming on the couch, feeling the odd sting of spanks. James had laid me across his lap after my shower and applied a generous amount of cold lotion that would heal the bruises so I wouldn’t feel sore. He had said such sweet words to me, slowly massaging my skin and praising me and even helping me get dressed, even though I didn’t need his help. It was such a caring moment.
But then he turned out to be a pig.
Men.
“I’ll let you know when I use it. Thank you for the vibe, by the way,” I grinned at both of them, “I know I’ll get a lot of use out of it.”
Emma played the movie and said, “If you want more toys, let me know.”
“Guys,” Summer shushed us, “Please let me focus on Howl’s cooking skill.”
We all hummed in agreement, getting lost in the wondrous world of the movie.
* * *
“Miss Miller.”I stiffened and kept my poker face as I lifted my eyes from the paint to meet his blue eyes.
I had avoided his texts ever since he dropped me off for a sleepover. He knew I’d come to school with Em and Summer because Emma had a chauffeur. He looked handsome as ever in one of his crisp shirts, but he was wearing a black one which I hadn’t seen him wear before. It suited him, and I hated that it did. Stretching over his shoulders and clinging to his biceps because he had rolled off the sleeves to show off his veiny forearms.
Even his face was freshly shaved and his eyes didn’t have any bags underneath them. He didn’t look like someone who wanted to apologize for being a giant dick.
I glared at him so hard that I hoped that the sexy glasses he wore would shatter beneath my gaze. But, of course, they didn’t. “Yes, Mister James?” I asked, my voice full of sweetness.
“See me after class. I need to discuss something with you.”
“I’ve another class,” I lied.
His eyes narrowed, and he said in a stern voice, “It won’t take long.”
Before I could deny him, he moved on to helping one of my classmates. I glowered and focused all my attention on the empty canvas before me. He had given us free rein to draw and paint whatever we wanted because he was impressed with all of our models. I was going to paint it a soft pastel color to create a beautiful sky with landscape, but my mood had turned sour. I didn’t want to talk to him or be alone with him.
“Thank you for waiting, Princess,” he said when the last student walked out of the classroom.
“Don’t call me that.” I crossed my arm and looked at the board over his shoulder. “What is it? I—”
“I know you don’t have any class right now.” He moved closer until he was standing across from me in front of his desk. “I wanted to… Mia. Look at me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I can’t apologize to you if you won’t look at me.”
“I don’t want to look at you.” My lower lip wobbled, and I desperately tried to sound strong, but it came out in a whisper. “You hurt me, James.”
“Oh, Princess.” Warm hand cupped my cheek, and I finally met his eyes, shocked to see his blue eyes were storming with so many emotions. “I’m sorry, Mia. For hurting you and saying those harsh things that I didn’t mean. You don’t have to forgive me, but I’m sorry for pushing you away.”
“Why did you?” I asked, pressing closer. “You said those hurtful things and told me you didn’t trust me. Then you gave me my elephant stuffy that I can’t sleep without and told me you care about me. It’s confusing me, James.”
I saw his throat bob and for a split second I was in awe of his adam’s-apple before focusing on what was important.
“Care and trust are two completely different things, Princess.” His eyes flickered to my lips. “I care about you. I trust you. But I need time to consider—Mia.”