The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,49
so had my mind. Coming to my senses, I slowly trudged inside and headed straight for the shower. I needed to wash away my shame and hope some of my dignity remained. One day, I’d look back on this day and cringe. Hopefully, it wasn’t sixty or seventy years from now because I’d probably stroke and die from embarrassment.
I could still smell him when I shed my wet clothes, so once I was under the pounding hot spray, I made sure to scrub my skin extra hard. His scent always had a way of clinging to me even after the briefest touch, and I never minded before, but this time was different. For the first time, it felt like it didn’t belong. Right now, he was across the street imprinting on someone else.
The most frustrating part was that I knew Wren was no monk, but I’d never actually been subjected to seeing him with girls. Once upon a time, I could have been that girl, but we’d fooled ourselves into thinking we were better off as friends. I never forgot the bet or the way he looked at me when I agreed. I just…pushed it away. We both did.
After ten minutes of scrubbing, I could no longer feel him on me, so I stepped out and with only a towel covering me, I headed to my room and tried not to hope that she’d give him herpes.
The 100 was still playing when I got to my room, but I wasn’t in the mood. With one last lingering look at Bellamy, who suddenly didn’t seem quite so captivating anymore, I shut off the TV and immediately plunged the room in darkness.
Unwrapping my towel, I let it fall to the floor at the same time light flooded the room. A yelp escaped me as I dove for the towel. Meanwhile, Wren stood frozen to the spot with eyebrows damn near touching his hairline, his mouth forming a perfect O, and his hand still on the switch.
When the shock wore off, anger quickly took its place. “What the hell are you doing?” he had the nerve to yell.
“Excuse me?”
“Why are you naked?”
“I took a shower, genius!” He continued to glower even after I finally managed to secure the towel around me. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be banging headboards with Bambi?”
“Who?”
“Samantha!”
Rolling his eyes, he stepped inside the room, grabbed the remote, and much too casually reclined on my bed.
“Wren?”
“That’s over,” he muttered. He never even took his gaze from the TV as he channel-surfed.
“Well, you didn’t have to stop on my account.”
“Actually, I did,” he quipped with a curl of his lips.
“You can fuck anyone, Wren. Just not my neighbors.”
“You sure about that?”
My heart skipped a beat. “What?”
His focus zeroed in on me, and for several seconds he just stared. “You heard me.”
Turning away, I rummaged through my dresser in search of more barriers. In my heart, I knew that if Wren touched me, not even a bulletproof vest would be enough protection.
“When you eventually got bored with her, she’d be a thing of your past, but she’d still be my neighbor.”
“So that was the only reason you cared?”
“What other reason would there be?”
I held my breath waiting for his reply, but he was quiet for so long I gave in before he did. Sucking in air, I grabbed the first shirt and pair of shorts I touched and bolted for the door. Unfortunately, he decided to give chase and caught me with a hand around my throat before I could cross the threshold. His hold wasn’t harsh or threatening, but then Wren never needed either to have me right where he wanted. Forcing my back against the door, he moved in, stopping just short of his body pressing against mine. I’m pretty sure all hell would have broken loose if it had. His eyes seemed to be glowing when our gazes locked.
“You’re too young.”
“I know that.” And I did. The problem was that I didn’t care as much. “I also know that I won’t be sixteen forever.” The moment the words left my lips, I was shocked by them, awed by them. I’d never meant to utter them.
“Jesus Christ, Lou!” Wren pushed away from me and shoved his fingers through his hair. “This is never going to happen. We’re friends. Just friends. That was the deal.”
My gaze fell to my feet. “I-I think you should go.”
My heart tore in two when I heard his sigh of relief. “Fine.”