Page 53 of Hunt for the Roses
Now I’m the one rolling my eyes. I turn to one of the two empty stalls in the bathroom, and close the stall door behind me as I get ready to pee. “Cute is only going to get him so far on a first date.”
I hear Kate enter the stall next to me. “Uh-huh. That’s what they all say.”
“You’re crazy.” I chuckle.
“Not as crazy as you if you don’t take advantage of this guy.But, I can respect the fact that you aren’t ready. The main thing I want is to see you happy again,” Kate responds.
“I’m making a heart with my hands. I promise to give you all the gossip tomorrow night,” I call from my stall.
Kate laughs. “I fucking love you.”
Then we’re both laughing at our ridiculousness, and once we’re done peeing, we wash up and head back to Trent and Dane.
* * *
After another hour hanging out at Shippers, Dane and I are driving back to our townhouses, and I look over from my passenger seat at Dane. He has one hand on the steering wheel, and his other hand to his mouth like he’s thinking about something, and he’s been strangely quiet.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
“Never better,” he responds, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the road.
I roll my eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. “Okay.”
“What? You asked me a question, and I answered.”
“It wasn’t an honest answer,” I say in a low voice while looking out the passenger side window.
There is a silence that consumes the car the next ten or fifteen seconds until I hear Dane’s voice again. “Do you actually like this guy?”
I’m still looking out the window as I shrug. “I like him as a friend for now. He’s good company.”
“Are you thinking of pursuing a relationship with him?” Dane asks.
I turn to look at Dane with narrowed eyes. “Why am I getting interrogated right now? I think I’m old enough to pick and choose who I go out with, thanks.”
His eyes still don’t leave the road for a moment. “I’m not interrogating. I’m asking questions you should probably be asking yourself.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
He hesitates before answering. “Maybe you should be guarding your heart more.”
I just look at him, stunned by the audacity of his comment, and then I turn to lean back in the passenger seat. “Drive faster, Dane. I want to go home.”
I stay silent as mixed emotions course through me. Am I jumping the gun here? Is it wrong for me to go on a date with a guy? Even if I know it’s just to have some good company, and I have little intentions of pursuing a romance?
Dane lets out a frustrated sigh, then faces his palm upward on the steering wheel as he speaks. “Come on, you’re overreacting.”
I let out a sarcastic chuckle. “I love how I’m the one who’s overreacting when you’re the one butting into my personal business.”
Dane lets out a soft laugh of his own, eyes still trained on the road. “I hardly think I’m asking you personal questions. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, you were the one that decided to share personal information with me when you were drunk on July Fourth.”
I turn my head to look at Dane through squinted eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Dane swallows a nervous gulp before speaking. “You told me you hadn’t been touched by anyone, let alonebeen withanyone…since.” With Dane’s emphasis on the words “been with,” I know he means having sex with a guy, and I can’t help the overwhelming amount of anger that rushes over me.
I can only gasp at Dane’s audacity. “I can’t believe you,” I say as I stare at him for several moments in disbelief, and finally turn my head to stare out the windshield in front of me, unable to look at him. “The nerve you have to bring this up…” I trail off trying to find the words I want to say, but I’m so mad I can’t think of how I want to finish my statement.
Dane exhales a laugh, but I know it’s a mocking laugh and not a genuine one. He casually leans back in his seat, leaving one hand on the steering wheel and his other hand on his upper thigh. “It’s amazing how I’m getting scolded for mentioning something that you told me in the first place.”
