Page 14 of Sugar Rush
My instinct was to make a joke out of his question, to ask if he meant was my wrist shattered from his death grip on it. But the words stuck in my throat.
“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”
“Easier said than done,” he muttered, but that was enough.
I felt a really dumb smile spreading across my face and I wanted to stop it because I knew I probably looked really goofy, but it was too late. He glanced over just in time to see me cheesing like a moron. Shaking his head, he looked back forward to the road. But his jaw wasn’t clenched anymore.
Eventually he pulled into the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant and ordered at the speaker.
“You didn’t ask me if I wanted anything,” I pointed out once he’d handed over his card to the girl in the window. I wasn’t really hungry, I’d eaten just before leaving the house. But I liked complaining and whining when I was with him.
“Just saving my breath,” he responded. When he glanced over to see my questioning look, he went on. “If I would have asked what you wanted, you would have said you didn’t want anything. Then when you saw me eating, you’d ask if you can have some. It’s easier just to order everything in a bigger size.”
I wanted to argue, but I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I was definitely guilty of the crimes of which I was being accused.
After they handed us the food at the next window, he parked in a dark and empty little corner of the lot.
“It’s diet,” he said, as I stared at the towering cup of cola he’d set in the cup holder. I already knew that, because I’d paid attention to his order.
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” I said lightly. He was always like that, always thinking of my needs and making sure I was taking care of myself. I didn’t exactly need the reminders, but they were nice to have.
Since he’d pretty much offered, in his bitchy emo kind of way, I wasn’t shy about grabbing up a fry and popping it into my mouth before taking a big slurp from his drink. I licked a speck of imaginary salt off the side of my thumb, adoring the way his eyes flicked right to my tongue. This whole seduction thing was more fun than I’d thought.
“Are you really okay?” He asked, after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
“I said I’m fine. Why would you think I wouldn’t be?” I wondered.
“Because I…” He trailed off, sounding frustrated. “That fucking creep at the party, and then…”
“And then?” I prompted, raising my eyebrows.
“And then I…” He trailed off again, heaving a growly sigh. “I was too rough with you. I didn’t mean to be, but I just…”
“You weren’t rough,” I corrected him. “I’m not made of glass. I liked it.”
“Don’t say that,” he snapped, reaching into the brown paper bag and ripping out a fry.
“What?”
“You know what.”
“That I liked it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because…” He inhaled deeply, letting out a long sigh. “There’s noit, okay? Nothing happened.”
“So you weren’t going to kiss me?”
He stared at me for several beats of absolute silence. “Of course I wasn’t going to kiss you. Kissing my stepbrother would be incredibly inappropriate and wrong.”
“Why would it be wrong?” I asked, shifting a little in my seat. I knew what he meant, I wasn’t stupid. Butwrongwas a little harsh. “We’re not actually related, Kieran.”
“That’s not the point,” he said. “Just drop it. You’re testing my patience, Jordy.”
That was something he said to me a lot.You’re testing my patience, Jordy.But testing Kieran’s patience was one of my favorite things. It was so incredibly testable. But it seemed a little more dire than usual, and I was trying to make him feel better, not worse, so I dropped it. Kind of.
