The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,56
being reckless.
I heard a door close a moment later, and then he sighed. “What time?”
“Seven please, and there’s a dress code, so you have to wear something nice!”
“Why?” he asked sounding suspicious. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
He grunted. “It can’t be if I’m driving.”
“Well, for the next couple of hours, it’s a surprise.”
I waited for his smartass response, but none came. Instead, he asked me if I had everything I needed for school. The day after we’d gone to Coney Island, he’d taken Eliza and me shopping for school supplies. The Hendersons were begrudgingly delighted since they hated Wren but couldn’t afford to put up much of a fight.
Wren continued to grill me about everything under the sun, and before I knew it, two hours had passed, and he was ringing the Hendersons’ doorbell. I rushed down the stairs with the roses I’d gotten for him in hand before Eliza could have the chance to gush and blush like she always did. Judging by the romance novels she hid from her parents, Eliza liked her heroes bad. My curfew was at ten, which left me plenty of time to have Wren all to myself. When I opened the door, however, my pleasure immediately took a nosedive.
“You didn’t dress up!”
Wren was wearing his usual attire—blue jeans and a white T-shirt. The only difference was that he’d thrown on a white button-up that might have been okay if he hadn’t left the shirt open and worn a tie. His gaze slowly perused me before cocking his head to the side. “Neither did you.”
My jaw dropped as I looked down at what I’d chosen to wear. “This is my best dress!” It was a white skater dress with an embroidered lace hem. It was nothing special, but whenever I wore it, Wren stared just a little longer than usual when he thought I wasn’t looking. I’d even paired it with black wedges to make my legs look longer.
“I’ve seen you dig through trash in that dress.”
“For the record,” I defended as I crossed my arms, “it wasn’t for food. I stashed a wallet I lifted in there when I ran from that beat cop.”
Smirking, he gripped the front of my dress and pulled me over the threshold before closing the door behind me. “Let’s go.”
I dug my heels in when he tried to pull me down the stairs. Strangling the strap of my mom’s rucksack, I gave him my sternest look. “Could you at least try to be excited?”
His nostrils flared as glared up at me from the bottom of the stairs. “I showed up, didn’t I?”
“Sometimes showing up isn’t enough.”
He groaned and threw his head back on his shoulders. “Jesus fucking Christ, you’re spoiled.”
“And you’re an asshole, but you don’t hear me calling you names.”
He threw his arms out in defeat. “What do you want me to do, Lou? It’s too late for me to change.”
That was true, and to be honest, I wasn’t even upset about him not cleaning up. Wren looked good no matter what he wore, but it was just as he said. I was spoiled, and he had only himself to blame. Wren still hadn’t learned to stop letting me have my way.
“Let me drive the pussy wagon.”
His glower only deepened. “Nice try.”
“It’s interesting that you didn’t deny it being a pussy wagon.”
He shrugged—appearing too smug for my liking—before doing an about-face and completely missing my reaction. My feet felt like lead as I slowly followed him to his car. I couldn’t even find the energy to argue when he got into the driver’s seat. Getting to drive his car was a long shot but so were the desires I held closer to my heart.
“Where to?” he asked once he had the engine started.
I recited the address and stared out my window the entire drive. I didn’t have to question if he noticed my mood. He made it clear with the happy tune he was whistling that he didn’t care.
Asshole.
Almost an hour later, I was so far inside my head that I hadn’t noticed we’d arrived until his hand brushed my knee as he reached inside the glove compartment. Pulling out a black tie, he quickly buttoned up his shirt, flipped up his collar, and slipped the tie around his neck. My lips parted as I watched him. When he’d finished, he tucked his lips inside his mouth, holding in his laugh as he eyed me.