Page 86 of The Runaway and the Rugged
“Bug, you awake in there?” Garth announced from behind the door. My stomach sank then fluttered with a swarm of butterflies all at once.
“Oh shit,” I mumbled into the phone, not knowing what to say or do. “I have to go, I’ll call you as soon as I can!”
Before she could respond, I swiftly tapped the end call button and rose from Grace’s bed with unsteady feet. With my equilibrium off balance, a pulsating headache, and weak muscles, I nearly toppled over onto the floor, prompting Garth to quickly swing open the door from the sound of me stumbling.
The second he realized it was me, his entire body froze in place with wide, flustered eyes aimed directly at me.
“Uh, hi.” I gently placed Grace’s phone back onto her nightstand before folding my arms over my chest. “Morning.”
He observed me thoroughly, from head to toe, until his jaw locked into place.
“What are you doin’ in here?” His tone was anything but friendly, almost icy in its coldness from the tension simmering beneath his words.
“Grace let me use her phone,” I responded quickly and anxiously as my toes wiggled their way into the plush rug beneath me.
Dressed for the start of a hard workday, it was nearly impossible to not appreciate how good he looked. Like an evolving painting, he grew more and more beautiful with eachpassing day I was in his presence, watching him closely, and discovering who he truly was. Even now when he was scanning me with blazing intensity, as if on the verge of shouting, he still held the same, unique beauty.
“Who’d you call?”
Straight-forward and no-nonsense.
“Clarke,” I answered with a weakness lingering in my tone.
“Hmm.”
His stare dipped down as he drew out a long, hard breath. I was moments from apologizing. From saying whatever was needed to make him smile at me again, but a small part of me, the one that was so accustomed to apologizing for every reason, hesitated and didn’t want to. I could apologize for the way I acted, for what I said in the messages I sent, but for simply having fun for once, without anyone holding me back? I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t.
Not anymore.
“You don’t have to hold back, Garth. I can see that you’re pissed off about what happened last night. So, just tell me why.” Although I was trembling more than I had confidence, I was still able to put my words out there without faltering.
His jaw had tensed even tighter, but everything else remained the same.
“You really want to do this? In here?”
I shrugged.
“I don’t think it matters where, does it?”
Unless Grace walked in, but I could sense he was moments away from unloading.
“I ain’t pissed at you,” he grunted, but his tone said otherwise. “I’m pissed at what happened and what could have happened.”
I wasn’t convinced, at least, not that he wasn’t upset with me.
“I’ll admit that I did drink too much, but I promise it wasn’t on purpose.” I uncrossed my arms, and I could have sworn Garth’s gaze swept across my chest before jerking back up to my face. “I rarely ever drink and I just… I wanted to have fun, for once. I wasn’t really considering the potential consequences or what could go wrong because I figured I could handle it, but I was wrong.”
It was nearly impossible to read him. His expression didn’t change but I did capture a slight shift in his stance. Less intimidating and more… relaxed.
“It’s okay not bein’ able to handle everything and like I said, I ain’t mad at you for having fun. It’s good to hear that you had some fun, but in an environment like that, you need to be careful. Especially when I ain’t there.”
He winced inwardly.
“When a man ain’t there to protect you.”
My blood flared hot suddenly.
“I don’t need another man hovering over me, telling me what I can and can’t do.” My words sliced through the air like an unexpected whip, but Garth didn’t falter.
