“Where are you off to afterward?” Marc asks me.
“I need to grab some food and do some laundry.”
“Sounds boring,” Marc jokes.
“It is, but it has to be done.” I shrug.
“Why don’t you leave it until tomorrow and come over tonight to watch another movie,” Marc says.
I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off.
“I’m sure she’s busy.” She looks at me and then away, but not before I catch another glimmer of pain washing over her face.
She doesn’t want me there. Because she probably wants her dad back. She’s always had him there for her…someone to go to like a best friend. So sharing him with someone else wouldn’t be easy. She’s just a kid, and she’s probably had a lot to deal with since her parents’ divorce. I just need to help make this right, even if that means taking a step back.
I nod. “Yeah, I can’t tonight. Next time.”
“Okay,” Marc says, looking a bit saddened, but I need to focus on how Aria feels. I’ll be talking to Ava and seeing if she can help me find a way of figuring out how I go about tackling this.
Our food arrives, and we all eat.
“I can’t believe you’re eating that,” Aria says.
He chuckles, and I can’t help but grin, loving the sound.
“You will be seeing it a lot now.” He winks at me, and I run my eyes over her before returning to my plate.
She’s staring at me with so much hate.
Get me out of here.
When we finish, we get up, and I offer to pay. “Don’t be offering me money,” Marc warns.
I shake my head. “I can’t have you pay every time.”
“Don’t argue with me.” He kisses me, and I forget for a moment where I am, or should I say, who’s around.
I sink into his gentle kiss, and when we pull apart, he dusts his thumb over my cheek. “Let’s go.”
I nod, and Aria’s sour face hits us. He doesn’t seem to pay any attention to it, but it makes my stomach roll.
He grabs my hand, and I don’t want to pull away. I’m falling for Marc. He doesn’t deserve hostility. I just need to sort out what I’ll do about Aria.
How do I get her to like me?
Outside, I smile, and he pecks me again when I say goodbye. Aria offers me a fake smile.
When I walk away, my mind is a jumbled mess.
“What a little bitch,” Ava says on the phone.
“She definitely is something else, but she’s also just a kid,” I say with a sigh.
“Kids can be cruel; I hope mine doesn’t turn out to be.”
I snort. “Let’s see when he or she comes out. But anyway, I need help with what I can do to get her to change her opinion of me.”
“You should bite back and see what she does,” Ava says.