Regretting You (Blackthorn Elite #4) - J.L. Beck Page 0,56
scar on her face.” Crystal and her friends break out in laughter as her words slice through me. I try and cover up my shock with a mask of indifference before Jackson can see it, but it’s too late. Fury overtakes his features, and I’m half tempted to tell him he doesn’t have to stick up for me, but keep my mouth shut.
“I’m not ignoring you because of Kennedy. I’m ignoring you because you’re clingy and annoying, and I’m not interested. I’ve said it ten times. How much clearer do you need it to be?” Crystal’s face looks as if she’s tasted something sour.
“Excuse me, but no one says no to me. Every guy wants me, even you. You just won’t admit it.” She purses her lips. “Isn’t that right, even you want me, Talon?”
Talon shrugs. “I mean, I’d fuck you, but you aren’t the type I’d keep around.”
Crystal and all her friends gasp in shock, and I decide to make my exit. I don’t want to be a part of this squabble any longer. I’m not anything to Jackson, and I don’t want him to feel obligated to stick up for me anymore.
Grabbing my tray, I get up from my seat and walk to the trash. Dumping the half-eaten salad into the garbage, I do my best not to run out of the cafeteria. I make it through the double doors and down a set of steps before I hear someone running behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I find Jackson running toward me.
“What the hell, Kennedy?” he growls as he reaches me, his breathing harsh.
“I…” What do I even say?
“You didn’t have to leave because of her. She would’ve left all on her own.”
I tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear and look up at him. “You didn’t have to stick up for me, and I wasn’t going to stay there and watch a fight ensue that I had no right being a part of. Those are your friends. Plus, I was done eating, anyway.”
Jackson’s brows furrow, and his nostrils flare. “You still had a whole salad, and you didn’t even open your water.”
I shrug, knowing I’ve been caught in a lie. “I lost my appetite. Anyway, I’m fine. Go back inside.”
“Why?”
Confusion bleeds into my face. “Why not? They’re your friends.”
“Talon is my friend. Crystal is no one.”
A heartbeat passes, and then another, and I’m not sure what to say. Do I tell him about what Crystal said about this morning? Come out and ask him if he’s sleeping with both of us? Or is that too straight forward? He told her he wasn’t interested, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t interested before.
“Did she say something to you?” he interrupts my thoughts with his question. I suppose it’s now or never.
Licking my lips, I say, “Not directly. It was more telling the entire cafeteria.”
“What did she say?” Jackson crosses his arms over his chest, making himself look more imposing.
I drop my gaze to the floor and stare at my sneakers. “She said that you called her this morning to come over, and that you hung out together last night. I don’t really care who you hang out with, but like I told you before, I don’t want to catch any diseases or anything, and I don’t know who else you’re doing stuff with and…” I’m rambling now.
“Shut up,” Jackson says sternly, and I feel my heart sink into my stomach. Things were going so well. Why did I have to go and screw them up?
Goosebumps break out across my skin when Jackson’s fingers grip onto my chin, forcing me to look up and into his forest green eyes, in the sun, they seem a shade lighter than usual.
“If I wanted to fuck someone else, I would. The only person I’m doing anything with is you, and I literally can’t stand Crystal. I don’t want her, and we aren’t friends.”
I nod or at least try with his grasp holding my head in place. My shoulders suddenly feel lighter, and warmth fills me, knowing he isn’t with anyone else but me.
“Oh, okay. You didn’t… you didn’t have to tell me. We aren’t anything. You said it yourself, we’re not even friends.”
A ghost of a smile tugs at Jackson’s lips. “We’re complicated, to say the least, and I didn’t have to say something. But I’m dicking you, so you deserve to know if I’m doing the same to other girls, which I’m not.”