Page 13 of Between Love and War
I smirk, shifting to face her fully. “You know, Katie—”
“Kate.”
“—I think you have the wrong impression of me.”
“Oh, do I?” She glances at me, unimpressed. “Please, enlighten me.”
I lean back, draping an arm over the headrest. “I’m not as much of a lost cause as you think.”
She lets out a short laugh. “Right. Says the guy who shoved a referee in the middle of a game.”
I shrug. “There’s a reason.” A stupid reason, but a reason nonetheless.
Kate shakes her head, muttering something under her breath. But she doesn’t press the topic, which surprises me. Most people would. Most people have.
Instead, she just focuses on the road ahead, knuckles white against the wheel.
I watch her, curious. “You don’t ask a lot of questions, do you?”
She doesn’t look at me. “Not everything needs to be my business.”
I let that sit between us for a moment. It’s different. Most people in this town—most people everywhere—love to pry. Love to dissect every move I make for the sake of entertainment.
But Kate? She looks like she couldn’t care less. Like she’s already boxed me into whatever judgment she’s made and doesn’t see the need to reassess. Like I’m not even worth the effort.
And that pisses me off.
“So,” I push, jaw tightening, “you really don’t want to know why I did it?”
She exhales through her nose, like I’m exhausting her. “I already know why you did it.”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah? Enlightenme.”
She finally flicks a glance in my direction. “You don’t like being told what to do. You live in this little bubble where everything goes your way. And when it doesn’t, you snap.”
That’s it? That’s the whole damn answer?
I shake my head, letting out a scoff. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Kate just shrugs, completely unbothered. “Doesn’t make it any less true.”
I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head. “Wow. Real insightful, Kate.”
“That’s Miss Kate to you,” she quips, completely unbothered, as if I’m some annoying background noise she’s learned to tune out. She stops at the school parking lot and gets out.
She’s not asking. Not even mildly doubting. She’s sure. Kate thinks she has me all figured out and doesn’t even need to ask if she’s right. And for some reason, that irritates me even more. Because if she’s already decided who I am, then nothing I do will ever change her mind.
Sorry Heather, I can’t be ‘chummy’ with someone like her.
CHAPTER SIX
Kate
It’s so easy to get to him. Almost too easy. It’s like pushing a domino and watching the whole thing crumble down. Just take a jab at his personality or his ego, and he breaks. He acts like he doesn’t care what people think of him. He likes to show people that the world’s opinions roll right off his back, but I see the way his jaw tightens, the way his fingers twitch like he’s stopping himself from firing back. He cares.
I don’t actually believe what I said. That he shoved the referee just because he doesn’t like being told what to do. There’s probably a bigger reason. No one tanks their own reputation over somethingthatstupid. Well—maybehedoes. I don’t know. And I shouldn’t care.
And Idon’tcare!
