Page 60 of Give In To Love
I refrained from pointing out that most of my friends looked at him that way. “I’m sure that’s not true. TJ’s just about the friendliest guy I’ve ever met.”
“Whatever.” He went silent, but I knew there was more. I kept my eyes on the road, my knuckles white as I gripped the steering wheel. I hated arguing. Especially with Steven, who always seemed to twist things to suit his purposes. “And what was with him calling you sunshine?”
“It’s nothing. Just a silly nickname.” My stomach twisted at the lie. It was so much more than a nickname.
You’re going to be okay, sunshine. You’re stronger than you think.
Come for me, sunshine.
You’re never just anything, sunshine. You’re everything.
I could never regret you. Being with you has been the greatest joy of my life, sunshine. I lo?—
I swallowed thickly, shoving back the memories, trying to focus on what Steven was saying.
“It doesn’t even make sense. I mean, it’s not like you have a very sunny personality. You’re pretty doom and gloom if you ask me. Always quiet. You never want to go out. Never want to hang with our friends. Never want to do anything, really. Just sit around with that stupid cat and your nose in a book.”
I gripped the steering wheel tighter and clenched my jaw. “You know I was sick last week.”
“I guess. But you dragged it out all week. I was surprised you still wanted to come tonight.”
I signaled, then took the exit toward our apartment. I hadn’t dragged it out. I’d laid low over the weekend and been back at school on Monday with just a little sniffle to manage. I didn’t bother to point any of this out, instead saying, “He called me that because of my curls. He said they reminded him of the sun.”
The moment the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. That was private. Between TJ and me. I hated that I’d given Steven any piece of what had been between us.
Steven snorted. “Seriously? Babe, those curls were out of control. We could have dyed them red and you’d have been Little Orphan Annie.”
I pulled into an empty parking spot in front of our building, killed the engine, and turned to look at him. “Are you done?”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, babe. You know that haircut was tragic before you met me.”
I crossed my arms and glared at him, something I rarely did. I’d never liked my curls until I’d met TJ. And after we’d broken up, I couldn’t bear parting with them until finally, one day, I’d decided it was time to let them go. It was actually how I’d met Steven. He was the stylist who’d cut my hair.
“Why do you always have to be such a dick?” I got out of the car, slamming the door behind me and making a beeline for the stairs that led to our third-floor apartment.
I heard the slam of the passenger door and then he was hot on my heels. “Oh, you think I’m a dick? I wasn’t the oneflirtingwith some guy while his boyfriend was literally standing right there.”
I had the key in the lock but stopped and looked at him before opening the door. “Seriously? You can miss me with that shit. You think I haven’t seen the way you flirt with other guys when we go out?”
“I can’t help it if I’m charming.”
I rolled my eyes and turned the key, opening the door and stepping inside. I headed straight back to the bathroom and began brushing my teeth.
“What are you doing?” Steven demanded.
I glared at him but didn’t respond. I thought it was fairly obvious.
“You’re seriously getting ready for bed? It’s only ten o’clock.”
I spit and rinsed, then glared at his reflection in the mirror.
“You’re the one with the headache, remember? That’s the whole reason we left my friends, whom I haven’t seen since June, I might add.”
He sniffed and crossed his arms. “The ibuprofen must have kicked in.”
“How convenient.” I brushed past him on my way back to the bedroom, where I quickly undressed and climbed into bed. Lucy hopped up next to me with a little chirp and began kneading the blankets with his paws. I brushed a hand over his head, giving him a little scratch, deliberately ignoring Steven where he was standing in the doorway.
“You’re really going to bed?”
