He sets me down gently, and the cold concrete floor beneath my feet is both a welcoming feeling because of its familiarity and also an unpleasant shove back into my reality which the man towering above me is not—and cannot—be a part of.
I start to speak. “Listen—”
“I know why you were there,” he says, cutting off my attempt at an explanation. I’d be pissed that he just cut me off if his voice wasn’t so calm—gentle, even.
I raise an eyebrow. “You…you do?” I blink a few times, unsure of his sudden change of tone on the matter.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you obviously need the money,” he says. “I saw how desperate you looked when I told you about the endoscopy. When I saw you tonight, I knew it had to be the reason why.”
I frown. “Then why did you react the way you did earlier if you knew I was doing this out of desperation?”
He sighs, running a hand through his full hair. “I don’t know. I guess I was just shocked to see you there,” he says. “You just don’t seem like the type to resort to something like that so I was sort of taken aback. Plus, you’re Danny’s sister, and you may not understand it, but I feel like I have a responsibility toward you because of that. But I do apologize if what I’d said made you feel bad.”
I feel my expression fall at that admission. I’m not sure what I expected him to say, but hearing that this is all about Danny is only pissing me off. I cross my arms over my chest in anger and put on an obviously forged smile.
“Well, the good news is that you don’t have to feel responsible for me. Danny certainly doesn’t, so there’s no need for you to,” I say bitterly, even though the smile is still glued to my lips. “Plus, Danny doesn’t exactly think of me as his sister, so yeah. But hey, not to worry,” I make a dramatic gesture with my hands, “I’m pretty sure his real sister, Jennifer, wouldn’t mind having you around and feeling responsible for her.”
My tone is so sour I can’t even believe it’s coming out of my mouth. Why am I getting so upset?
Frost doesn’t try to get a rebuttal or anything. I hand him back his jacket and he simply bids me goodnight. I watch him walk over to his car before I break my gaze from him forever. But just as I’m about to walk through my door, I remember something.
“Hey,” I call out, quickly turning back to him once more. He looks at me from the side of his car, towering over the gorgeous compact vehicle. “Before that McGraw dude interrupted us, you said you wouldn’t tell my grandmother about tonight on one condition,” I say. “What is it?”
He continues to look at me for a moment, his eyes assessing, as if they’re trying to analyze something. Suddenly, a small, almost arrogant grin creeps its way onto his full lips, pulling on one side of his mouth mischievously.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” is all he says.
***
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid