Kissing the Player - Maggie Dallen Page 0,38

step toward her. “Oh, it’s you.” Her exhale wasn’t exactly a sigh of delight.

I stilled again. I wasn’t sure ‘Oh, it’s you’ could ever really sound like a warm welcome, and in this particular instance there was no denying the fact that she was…not pleased to see me.

“Are you, uh…you okay?”

She made a little noise of disdain as she turned back toward the party again. “Yeah, fine. I’m great. I’ll see ya later.”

“Rose, wait.”

She stopped.

She waited.

And I…had no idea what to say.

11

Rose

I was so not in the mood for this.

I hadn’t been in the mood to play the role of fun, flirty Rose all night, and now?

I lifted a hand to my temple without thinking.

Now I just couldn’t.

Besides, the poor schmuck looked shell-shocked at the sight of me crying. To be fair, I hadn’t been crying for real. It wasn’t like some sob-fest over here. I’d just given into a momentary need for physical relief. It was an expunging of tension, that was all.

I was over it now.

I was fine.

Totally fine.

Or at least, I would be once I found Hannah and told her I needed a ride home. And oh yeah…a place to crash.

“Where are you going?” Jax called after me as I turned to go when he’d failed to speak.

Really, did he expect me to wait around all night for him to form a coherent sentence? Nope. No way. Besides, I was sick of hearing him speak. I’d played him like a banjo for the better part of the night, and I should have been reveling in my success…

But I wasn’t.

The thrill of being the better actor had died a quick and merciless death after I’d heard him and Simone talking.

I knew he didn’t have much respect for me, but…no heart? Really?

That was a little harsh, no?

Just like that I’d realized that Hannah had been right. As usual. My practical, no-drama friend had been so right. I was never going to win this game he was playing. It was a race to see who could hurt who more. Who could get less hurt.

It was a stupid, petty game.

And he called me shallow. I’m the self-absorbed one? Did he know how hilarious that was to hear after he’d basically performed a one-man show tonight telling me about his band?

Ugh.

Men.

“Rose, where are you going?” He was by my side now as I trampled through leaves and underbrush. His hand on my arm made me pause. “Are you okay?”

I shouldn’t have looked up.

Without heels, he was a little taller than me, and right now he was hovering. He was arching a bit so he formed this wall between me and the rest of the world. He was all I could see when I looked in his direction and his eyes…

That was the real killer.

The look in his eyes. Concern. Warmth. Affection.

Like he cared.

Like he actually cared.

I ripped my arm away from him with more force than necessary. It wasn’t like he was holding me back or gripping me hard. I just couldn’t bear to have him touching me right now.

And there was no way I could go back to pretending, either. Not right now. Not after fighting with my mom, and not after the things I’d heard him say when I’d been taking a moment for myself before returning my mom’s call.

I was done.

This was over.

He just didn’t know it yet.

“Get lost, Jax. I’m out of here.”

“Do you need a ride?” he asked.

“Yes. Which is why I’m going to go find my friend.” Why was I even explaining myself to this guy? I should have just called him out on his bet, put him in his place, and left him in my dust.

I would have if I’d had the energy. If my head wasn’t currently pounding out a bongo beat for the ages.

“You mean Hannah and her boyfriend?” he asked. Something in his tone…

I stopped. “Yeah. Why?”

“They left,” he said. “I saw them leave a while ago while we were talking.”

“While you were talking,” I muttered.

“Excuse me?”

Even as I’d said it, I was taking my phone out again and…yup. Sure enough. Hannah had texted that they were leaving. Giving me one last shot to grab a ride back. But I’d told her I was fine. I’d said I’d find another ride. I’d been so caught up in my stupid game with Jax, I’d missed my best shot at a quick getaway.

“I can give you a ride,” he said.

I kicked at the dirt with my mom’s never-before-worn hiking boots. They were stylish, all