Page 82 of There's Pumpkin About You
“Gus, slow down,” Wren pleads. I keep my hand on her waist firm. We’re almost to the truck.
“Gus! Please, slow down.”
I open the passenger side door and wait.
“Get in, Wren.”
She’s shocked by my tone, and to be honest, so am I. It’s unnervingly low and harsh, primed for a fight with someone I’m not even angry at.
“Will you just calm down for a minute, please? You’re having a really big reaction to this.”
“No, Wren, I’m reacting exactly as I should.”
“You’re behaving like an ass,” she challenges, and it only fuels my frustration more.
I take a step towards her, my frame shadowing over hers easily. Her eyes widen on my approach and her back hits the car door.
“Get. In. The. Car.Please. There, now I’m being polite.”
“Oh, my God,” she groans. “Why are you being so pig-headed all of a sudden?”
“Pig-headed?” I step forward again. “Pig-headed?I’m the one who woke up this morning wanting to show the woman I want that there’s more to me, only for that to be ruined by shitty communication and frustrating jokes… andI’mthe one being pig-headed? Because I’m angry at the situation?”
“If you’re angry at the situation then fine, but don’t you dare direct that at me.”
“I’m not, I’m just…” I’m just what? For fuck’s sake, what am I doing?
I’m in way over my head. How the hell did I mess today up so badly? I should have checked. I should have asked for a photo of Trixie before schlepping Wren across three towns. If I’d known the truth, I would have been able to spend the day worshiping her body and staring at her smile instead, making sure that I knocked her into another orgasm-induced coma before I put a vase of wildflowers on the bedside table for her to wake up to. I could have made her come, and scream for me over and over that she’s mine and will always be.
Frustrated and overwhelmed, I storm over to my side of the truck, jumping in and slamming the door behind me. I stew in my own anger whilst I wait for Wren to get in, and each minute I sit there staring ahead of me is another minute of me feeling worse and worse.
The door slams as Wren enters the truck. She sits beside me quietly for the entire drive back, arms folded as she looks out the window solemnly. My fingers tighten on the steering wheel as I pull up to the house.
“Wren, I?—”
“I need to get home,” she interrupts, jumping out the truck before I can respond.
I scurry out after her, catching up to her easily. “Wren, please, wait.”
“I need to go, Gus.”
I manage to catch her arm and twist her towards me. Just like the first time we met, I find her nestled into my chest, clinging to my shirt with a hint of desperation. Her breathing is heavy, her breath fanning my chest warmly.
“Tell me how to fix it,” I plead. “Tell me what I can do to make it all better.”
She shakes her head and for a second, I wonder if I’ve lost her before I even had a chance to have her.
“August, you’re frustrated, you’re upset. Whilst I understand that, you’re directing it at me and that’s not okay. So, I need to just go home and cool off, and I think that you should, too.”
Dread fills my chest but I still plant a kiss on the top of her head. “I just really wanted to give you a good day; to tell you how much I want this… want you.”
“I know, I had a feeling.” She looks up at me, skin glowing as the sun hits it. “But these things happen, and that’s okay. Take your time and try again. I’ll be here waiting.”
ChapterThirty-Seven
WREN
Today’s the day. Today is Oakleigh’s party and I am absolutely, positively shitting myself.
