Page 66 of Exactly What I Needed
Chapter 23
Itook a sip of my drink, unintentionally glaring at Asher. It wasn’t his fault, but still…. There was a crowd of girls standing around him across the yard, flirting with him. He wasn’t flirting back; in fact, he wasn’t really saying much, but all the same. It seemed to bother me, and I couldn’t control the expression on my face.
His gaze slipped to mine, and he lifted a single, subtle brow. But nothing on my face changed. Dipping his hand in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and typed something. Mine vibrated in my free hand, tearing my annoyed stare away from him.
I glanced at the text and pursed my lips.
What’s that look for?
He should know.
So every other girl in the world can flirt withyou in public, but not me?
I quickly tapped send, and then waited for the usual bubbles. They appeared, and a smirk lit upon his face. The group of girls around him hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t paying them any attention as he typed an answer.
That’s up to you, Princess. But what happens as a result would be out of my control;)
I lifted my gaze to meet his again, a satisfied smile on his face, and he shoved his phone back in his pocket.
Sydney was in the group, flirting away, so what harm would come if I joined in? Wouldn’t it simply look like I was doing just as everyone else was?
Taking another swig of my drink, I placed the glass down on the garden table and began walking to him.
Tera shot herself directly in front of me, and I skidded to a stop.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.
Everything Asher had said to me slipped back into my head. Did Sydney or Tera really care about me, or did they only care to keep everything the same because of what they wanted from me? I simply shrugged my shoulders and tried to step around her.
“Don’t you dare.” She placed a hand against my shoulder and stopped me. “Let Sydney have her moment. You already ignored my warning. You really want to keep going?”
“So, tell her,” I snapped, annoyed.
“Wh-wh-what?”
“Exactly. You won’t.”
“Oh, yeah? I’ll go over there right now and tell her.” She crossed her arms.
I lifted a brow and sighed, unbothered. “Okay.”
Widening her eyes, she blinked rapidly but didn’t move.
“You know if you tell her, it will change the entire dynamic of our relationship, and since you still need things from me, you won’t chance changing it by telling her,” I calmly said.
“I-I-I don’t need you,” she quietly stammered.
“No? So you don’t need me to come pick you up when you’re high and drunk at random times of the night? You don’t need me to drive you to and from places other than work? You don’t need me to make all of your different appointments for you anymore or pick up your groceries? You can take care of all of that on your own now?” I listened to myself list off only a few of the things that I did for her without complaint or hesitation in disbelief.
Saying just those few things out loud sounded more insane than I realized. And that wasn’t even everything. For every girl in our group of friends, I did all of that. Except Megan took care of her own groceries. I was wherever they needed, whenever. Picking them up, dropping them off. Buying them things, scheduling them things, reminding them of important appointments, even cleaning their apartments at times.
And what did they do for me? Throw a birthday party once a year? Let me tag along to things? Sydney at least put effort into getting me to join her on her outings, but all of that was still, in the end, for themselves.
“You said that things were done with him,” Tera attempted to argue again.
“Then stop worrying about me.” I didn’t deny it but wasn’t confirming it either.
“Why’d you have to go and upset things?”
