Curvy Girls Can't Date Bad Boys - Kelsie Stelting Page 0,23
bra and continued to the dining room where I could hear Dad and Ryde’s low voices.
I couldn’t distinguish them, their words. Not without revealing myself. The moment I entered the room, they stopped talking and turned toward me, looking uncomfortable. What had they been discussing?
I waited for them to speak, wanting a chance to read the mood in the room. Ryde wouldn’t meet my eyes. Was he contrite for how he’d acted or still upset with me for leaving?
“Take a seat,” Dad said, all business. He got like this sometimes when I’d gone too far off track in his opinion. I could still remember the conversation we’d had after I’d bleached and then dyed my hair lavender my freshman year. It was back to black in no short order.
I sat as far away from him and Ryde as I could get and waited. If Dad felt like he was in charge, he’d let his guard down so I could tell him the truth.
He stood from his chair and paced in front of us. “Last night should have been fun for both of you. Together.” He eyed me, and my cheeks heated just thinking of Ronan. “Instead,” he pointed at Ryde, “you let the media dictate your actions, which if you expect to have a successful marriage and a long career as an actor, you need to learn better.” He turned toward me. “Zara, you let your hot head get in the way of what could have been a great night for you and your future husband.”
I opened my mouth, ready to argue, but Dad cut me off with a slice of his hand through the air.
“I don’t want to hear it. You’re acting like a spoiled child, but soon you will be an adult with real responsibilities and a husband. You need to start acting like it. Not like some wild harlot hanging on to a vagrant from the back of the motorcycle.”
“How did you—”
“You think I don’t speak with security? Nothing happens in my house without me knowing about it.”
Anger welled within me and threatened to spill through my eyes. I hated when I got so angry I cried. I wanted to be calm and not show him how much his words affected me, but my voice shook as I said, “I am not marrying Ryde.”
“You are,” he said, his voice a delicate balance of power and fury.
Desperate, I looked at Ryde. “You can’t want this.”
His jaw was set as he stared straight ahead. “I do.”
“It’s settled,” Dad said, resting his hands on the table. “We will continue your dating.”
“So what Ryde wants matters more than what I want?” I asked, my jaw trembling.
“You’re a child,” Dad said. “You don’t know what you want... Now, Ryde, go home. Sleep off your hangover and get your act together. Zara, go to your room.”
“Happily,” I growled and shoved away from the table.
By the time I reached the top of the stairs, the tears had fully built and were streaming down my cheeks. Angrily, I wiped them away and paced my room. I couldn’t keep it all in, so I sent a video call to each of my friends. I hoped talking to them would cure this panic rising within me and help me think more clearly.
One by one, their faces appeared on the screen.
“What happened?” Jordan asked the second she saw my expression.
The girls listened while I explained the horrors—and pleasures—of the night before.
Callie’s eyes were wide. “I can’t believe you rode on a motorcycle!”
“With a complete stranger!” Rory added.
Ginger smiled dreamily. “It sounds like something out of a movie.”
“I can’t decide whether it’s a horror or a satire,” I retorted, settling on my bed, the covers still a mess.
“Definitely a romance,” Ginger said.
Rory looked hopeful. “Did he get your number?”
My cheeks felt warm, and I couldn’t hold back my smile from the memory of his text and the message behind it.
“He did!” Jordan cried. “What did he say?”
I repeated the words, and Jordan looked confused, but the others’ eyes lit up.
“He said that?” Callie asked dreamily.
“What does it mean?” Jordan asked.
Rory grinned and repeated what it meant, then added, “The Academy has a freshman Latin requirement.”
“Ah,” Jordan said. “But he doesn’t seem like an Academy guy. How does he know what it means?”
I shrugged. “Unlike Ryde, I have a feeling there’s more to Ronan that meets the eye.” My heart sank. “Guys, what am I going to do? Dad is going to make me marry him.”