The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,57
refusing to apologize. I might have made assumptions, but Wren had been all too willing to play his games. He moved around the car, and after opening my door, Wren held out his hand for me to take. When he noticed me staring at his hand like it was covered in shit, he squatted and met my gaze. “Problem, bestie?”
I knew he was mocking me with that endearment. He was just lucky I didn’t crack my knuckles across his face. “Why would there be a problem?”
“You tell me.”
We stared at one another, waiting for the other to bend or break.
It was almost always me.
That’s why I was caught off guard when he softened and looked even remorseful. I didn’t understand why until he lifted his hand to thumb away a tear I didn’t realize had fallen. My cheeks heated, and I quickly looked away, feeling silly. Noticing my embarrassment, he quickly unbuckled my seat belt and pulled me from the car. After slamming the door, Wren pressed my back against it and forced me to look him in the eye as he caged me in.
“Wren—” I started to protest, but he cut me off.
“Sometimes I forget that letting me take care of you meant you’d be taking care of me, too.”
I couldn’t do anything but hold back more tears. I didn’t even understand why I was so emotional. It wasn’t that big of a goddamn deal!
He glanced down, noticing the roses I’d pick up from the corner store. “These are for me?” He freed them from my clutches without waiting for a response and sniffed them with a boyish smile. “I’m happy as fuck that you care about my birthday…even if I don’t.”
I gasped. “So you do know it’s your birthday!” I know my surprise seemed ridiculous, but with Wren, I could never tell when he was bluffing. He had a damn good poker face.
He sighed. “Yeah, Lou.”
“Why don’t you care?”
He shrugged. “I just don’t. There doesn’t have to be a reason.”
Refusing to let it go, I said, “But you make a big deal when it’s my birthday.”
“Because I know you’d put bleach in my drinking water if I didn’t.”
I couldn’t help snickering because he had me pegged. “I wouldn’t kill you. Just your car.”
His head jerked back, and he looked more afraid for the hunk of metal than he did his own life. “That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”
“I’d feed it candy bars,” I insisted with a straight face.
The sound of a throat clearing interrupted his retort, and my entire body turned red this time when I saw a man standing a couple of feet away waiting to get inside his car. I didn’t even realize how close Wren and I were standing until now. Even though we weren’t touching, we couldn’t have looked like two platonic friends. To my immense mortification albeit secret delight, rather than stepping aside to let the man pass, Wren moved even closer. I gasped at the feel of his hard body pressing firmly against mine. It felt different than the brotherly hugs he’d given me in the past although I’m not sure he meant it to.
The man mumbled his thanks before quickly hopping inside his car.
I expected Wren to put space between us immediately. Instead, he patiently waited for the man to set up his GPS, adding to my torture. I couldn’t be sure with my brain short-circuiting, but it felt as though Wren had pressed even closer when the man began backing out of the parking spot. He was hard everywhere, and my body was yielding without much of a fight.
I felt Wren’s heated gaze and wanted to avoid the challenge I knew I’d see in them, so I watched the taillights until they faded. Coincidentally, that was the moment Wren stopped holding me hostage.
“We should go inside,” he said while checking his watch.
I was busy staring at him like he’d grown a second head. How could he pretend that we hadn’t just crossed some line? That we hadn’t been crossing many of them all summer long?
“I hope you didn’t make reservations.”
He finally looked at me just as I managed an indifferent expression.
“I did, but you can just threaten the maître d’.” The reproachful look he gave me made me smile which only deepened his scowl. “Hey, if you’re going to be a menace, you might as well enjoy the perks.”
Shaking his head, he led me into the restaurant. Of course, I picked the nicest one available. I’d snatched quite a