You Will Be Mine (Forever and Ever #7)(8)



“No.” I turned to Shane. “Can you give me a ride?”

“You aren’t going to wait for him?” Shane asked.

I didn’t care if Arsen talked to girls because I trusted him, but he’d been talking to her for nearly twenty minutes and I was irritated by his rudeness. He was supposed to make a good impression, not chat up some big-tit brunette. “No.” I walked out with them until we reached the street. “Where did you park?”

“Over here.” Shane led the way. “I guess having a nice guy isn’t so bad after all…” He gave Denise a knowing look.

She hooked her arm through his. “Not at all.”

I walked behind them and didn’t bother checking for Arsen.

“Silke!”

I recognized his voice but kept walking.

His hand gripped my wrist. “Where are you running off to?” He pulled me to him.

“Sorry? Are you talking to me now?” I gave him as much attitude as possible.

Denise and Shane stopped and stared at us.

I knew this would take a while. “Arsen will take me home. Don’t worry about us.”

Denise gave me a sad look before she walked away with Shane.

“Excuse me?” Arsen said. “You were just going to take off without telling me where you were going?”

“Were you going to spend our date with me or that chick?” I demanded.

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t get jealous…”

“I’m not jealous,” I hissed. “I’m pissed off that you were rude. You were gone for twenty minutes and you were supposed to get to know Denise better. If you want to make a good first impression, don’t flirt with some bimbo by the bathroom. You made yourself look like an ass.”

“I wasn’t flirting—”

“Shut up.” I held up my hand. “You want to be with me, Arsen? You want to or not?”

He clenched his jaw.

“Is that a yes? Then get your shit together.”

“She’s one of my buyers.” His words came out barely audible.

“What the hell does that mean?” I snapped.

“She buys weed from me.” He put his hands in his pockets.

“That still doesn’t mean anything to me. You can talk to your clients on your own time.”

“Well, she wanted to buy a few ounces and I happened to have some on me. Why turn down a great opportunity?”

My eyes snapped wide open. “You were selling drugs on our date?”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” he argued. “It just happened. If some woman wanted to buy a piece of art from you, would you turn her down because you were at dinner?”

“Not the same thing and you know it, Arsen! What you did was illegal.”

“Technically, selling a sculpture would be too,” he snapped. “You need a business license to do that. The government needs their taxes.”

I hated it when he was a smart ass. “You want me to slap you?”

“I don’t give a damn. Do it.” He stepped closer. “You have a weak arm anyway.”

“I can knee you in the balls instead, if you like?”

“I’m calling your bluff, Silke.”

He had me.

“You know what I do for a living. The fact I did it one time in your presence shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“But it is when you’re trying to get along with my friends.”

He glared at me. “What happened to wanting to be with me no matter what anyone says? Were you just pulling that out of your ass?”

“Of course not.”

“Then you need to chill out.”

“I need to chill out?” I asked. “You could have done your business in two minutes. You didn’t need to be gone that long.”

“Well, she wouldn’t shut up and I was waiting for her to pay me.”

“You’re a drug dealer,” I hissed. “You should be able to figure out how to speed things along.”

“Well, she and I kinda have a history…”

That just pissed me off even more. “You slept with her?”

He held my gaze and didn’t look away. “I’ve slept with a lot of people. That isn’t news.”

“Fuck you, Arsen.” I marched off and hoped he wouldn’t follow me.

He caught up to me. “What? You want me to lie?”

“No. I want you to go back in time and erase what just happened. That’s what I want.”

He sighed and kept walking with me. “Don’t be jealous. She’s got nothing on you, Silke.”

I turned around and got in his face. “I’m not jealous. How many times do I have to say that? I don’t care whom you talk to or what you do. I just want you to make an effort for a damn hour. Just an hour!” I stormed off again.

He blocked my path. “Silke, calm down.”

“Just leave me alone, Arsen. I don’t want to see you right now.” I tried to walk around him again.

He gripped me then pulled me back in front of him. “I made it clear this wouldn’t be easy. Our relationship would be an ordeal. You need to be patient with me. I didn’t realize I was doing anything wrong. Now I know and I won’t do it again. Okay?”

E. L. Todd's Books