Page 3 of Mine to Claim

“Try to relax?” She snorted at my words.

“Please. Without practice or classes to fill my time, I plan on being bent in half while I’m free of responsibilities. The clock is ticking on my freedom. I’m going to paint the city. I just wish you didn’t have T-bag to hold you down,” she sighed, but couldn’t hide the emotion in her eyes.

“You’re so ugly when you cry.” I went in for another hug and patted her on the back.

“Going to miss you, bitch,” she whined. Pulling away, she dropped to the bed.

“Ugh,” I groaned.

“I hope you guys have fun, or whatever,” she sniffled.

“You don’t mean it, but thanks,” I laughed.

She nodded and then shrugged.

“You’re right. I don’t. Not even a little bit, but I hopeyouhave a good time. I hope he falls, hits his head on the sidewalk, and bleeds out.” My jaw dropped.

“Dani!” I gasped. She stuck out her tongue and jumped. Once again dodging my attempt at slapping her.

“You told me not to lie!” She threw over her shoulder before running out of our room.

“I said you don’t mean it. Not describe how you’d like him to die!” I yelled after her.

“Oh, trust me. That’s not how I want him to die. I can think of a few ways an alpha-hole like him can meet his end…” she mumbled from the other room.

“Weirdo,” I whispered under my breath.

“I heard that!” she yelled.I don’t know how she did; I literally whispered, but she’s always had insanely good hearing.My phone dinged as another notification popped up. Parker was impatient, and nerves swirled as I rushed out. Dani sat on the armrest of our sectional.

“Wear the wedges by the door. The black strapped ones.”

“Thanks, boo.” I blew her a kiss as I passed. Leaning against the wall, I maneuvered them on one by one. Then opened the door.

“Wrap it up! You don’t want the demon’s spawn in your life forever,” Dani called out before I could close it.

Shaking my head, I took the stairs two by two and miraculously made it with both ankles intact. Rushing the hallway before taking the side exit, I ran out to his Honda Civic. I heard Dani’s voice in my head telling me to wait so he could get out and open the door, but I brushed the thought away. Opening it, I hopped in and bit my lip shyly as I smoothed the material on my lap. When I peaked up at him, he wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes were glued to his screen.

Chapter 2

It’s fine. My boyfriend doesn’t need to give me his undivided attention as soon as I hop into the car. It’s not like my scent drives him mad or he wants to mark me the minute he knows I’m in the vicinity.

Parker was busy tapping away on his screen. Balling my fist, I tried to be patient, but as the time on the dash went from 3:30 to 3:50 without so much as a word, I started to lose my mind. Sneaking a glance his way, I checked him out. Blonde hair fell over his eyes. He was wearing a white t-shirt and sweats. He wasn’t dressed for going out and I wondered if he’d forgotten.

Chewing on my lip, I remind myself thathe’s a real life man and not a monster from my romance books. Men in the non-fictional world don’t obsess over you like the morally gray fictional ones do. I have to stop holding Parker to that standard, every man really, or I’ll always be disappointed. And I’m not the main character. Never could fit the bill. Dani on the other hand, she was made for the role.

Sighing, I slumped back against the seat.What I’m not going to do is compare myself to my best friend. It’s not her fault she’s perfect. And it’s not like this is my first time actually thinking I look pretty or anything.I groaned internally.There I go being fucking self-centered again. Why do I always sound like a ‘pick me’ girl?Biting too deep, the metallic tang I was all too familiar with filled my mouth. A tear sprinted down my cheek as I faced the window and pretended I was looking outside. Everything was a blur and I hated that I’d thrown myself down depression lane.

Is it so wrong to want to be told that I look pretty?

I was so angry I shook with laughter, rubbing my forearm against my face as I leaned into the glass, hoping to hide the fact that I was losing it. He threw his phone on the center console, the sharp noise making me jump.I can’t look at him right now. He might notice my eyes are red.But of course, he didn’t. The silence stretched as he pulled away from the curb and onto the main road. I didn’t know if my worries were valid or if I just expected too much.

“Where are we even going?” His words cut through my self-deprecating thoughts and I scrambled to answer. Folding my hands over my lap, I fiddled.

“Smoke and Cedar. It’s this place that’s gone viral recently. I wanted to check it out.”

He picked up his phone and texted while he drove.Strike one. Once again, I’m put on the back burner while he writes someone who is obviously more important than me.I wanted to address this, but at the same time, I really wanted to have a good night. And while I knew I should be able to voice my opinion, I also knew he wasn’t really good at hearing me without taking it as a personal attack. So I swallowed it like every other time.

“I think you’ll really like—”

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