Page 47 of The Save

"—who doesn’t make me want to throw up in my mouth."

"Okay. Maybe a slightly harder sell.”

“Who isn’t Chase Wilson. Because apparently, he's the only one my body knows how to notice at the moment."

"Right. Same frequency and?—"

We both jumped as the slam of a car door sounded behind us. My head snapped to the left, and my stomach lurched like I was suddenly dangling at the top of the Drop of Doom.

Chase Wilson stood on the other side of his truck, and his passenger window was open.

Chapter

Sixteen

If I thoughtShar and Crystal were deer in headlights the other night in Shar's apartment, it was nothing compared to the two of us. A bulldozer could have been bearing down on us, and neither of us would have flinched.

My mind did the math.

No cars or trucks had pulled in or out of that parking lot since Shar and I had left the bar. He'd been sitting there the whole time. Three cars down. And Shar and I hadnotbeen whispering. Had he heard that last sentence?Had he heard me yell penis sex?I couldn’t decide which was worse.

I wanted to die. I wanted to bury my head in the sand like an emu or ostrich—if that was something they actually did and not just another lie spread by Saturday morning cartoons.

What exactly had I said?Why had I opted to end with that closing statement? Had I referenced him since we were closer to the bar? Strike that final addition, and the rest of it would have been embarrassing but salvageable. But this?

"Sharla. Maddie." Chase coughed at the end of my name, then folded his arms only to think better of it and drop his handson the hood of his truck. His jaw tensed, and he wouldn't meet my eyes.

Oh,damn it.

"I'm just going to—" Sharla slowly backed away, and I shot her a glare that said,If you dare leave me alone right now, you're dead to me.She mouthed,"I’m sorry?"Then turned and speed walked to the lobby.

That little skank.

I turned back to Chase, my cheeks burning. Hell, he looked good. A long-sleeved heather-grey T-shirt. His hair no longer combed like it had been at the game.

I had no other choice but to go on the offensive. "Were you just sitting in your car? Who does that?"

He rounded the hood, and I took a step back. "I was going to come into the bar, but then I got stuck on a phone call."

"At one in the morning?" What the hell time was it, even? I had no idea.

His jaw ticked again. "Yeah."

My curiosity spiked, but embarrassment overrode any potential questions. "How much of that did you hear?" I didn't want the answer, but I had to know.

He shrugged. "All of it, I guess."

"All of it?You didn't think to alert us to your presence?"

"I did."

I scoffed. "After you listened to all of it."

He took a step closer. "Yeah. I know that was a dick move, but I couldn't—" He ran a hand through his hair. "I couldn't stop."

Couldn’t stop. What kind of excuse was that? My eyes burned. This was why I didn't open up to people. Why I didn't say out loud my deepest, darkest fears. "Well, I hope it was entertaining." I turned on my heel and started after Sharla.

Chase's footsteps sounded on the pavement behind me. “I have a biology problem, too.”

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