Take Me for Granted (Take Me #1)(31)

This is going to be fun.

“So, I’m here,” she grumbled, taking a seat. “Are you going to explain to me why you told everyone that we slept together?”

“I didn’t tell anyone that,” I said.

Actually, I’d purposely avoided saying anything at all about Ari. The guys had just inferred that from previous behavior.

“Then, there’s no reason for me to stay here.”

She started to get up, and I grabbed her wrist.

“Sit your ass back down.”

She wrenched her arm away from me. “Why should I bother?”

“Look, I didn’t say that I slept with you! But I have slept with chicks in the back room of The League before. We were back there for ten minutes. Vin thought that was what we were doing, and I even told you that they wouldn’t believe me if I’d said we weren’t fooling around.”

“Fooling around does not necessarily mean sex!”

“For me, it does,” I told her frankly.

She glared at me.

“What? Do you want me to tell everyone that I didn’t sleep with you? Do you want me to f**k with my reputation?”

“No. By all means, I never want to see you again either,” she spat. I honestly couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

“Fine. Don’t f**king move.”

I stood from my seat, already feeling like an idiot, but it was clear that Aribel had made me an idiot. “Excuse me,” I called out to the busy coffee shop sitting just off-campus.

“Grant, what are you doing?” Aribel hissed.

Gradually, the coffee shop quieted, and eyes moved over to me. I thought I recognized some of the faces. From the flicker of recognition throughout the crowd, I was sure people recognized me.

“Sorry to take up your time, but I’m Grant McDermott.”

Someone whistled, and then I heard a catcall from the other direction. At least I had their attention.

“I just wanted to make a quick announcement. This is my friend Aribel.”

She blushed bright crimson as I addressed her.

“I wanted everyone to know that I haven’t slept with her, that’s all. Feel free to tell your friends.”

I sat down and was about to open my mouth to ask her if that had proved my point, but she had already grabbed her bag and was rushing to get out of the building.

“Fuck,” I grumbled. I tucked my helmet under my arm and darted out after her. “Ari!”

“Leave me alone, Grant!”

“Come on. Where are you going?”

“Just leave me alone!” she called back over her shoulder.

I jogged to catch up with her. There was no way I was letting her get away like this. “Ari, hold up.”

She whirled around when I reached her. “You totally humiliated me in there! All you think about is yourself. Did you even think before telling a bunch of strangers that you didn’t sleep with me?”

“I was just trying to prove that I like you, Ari. You make it so f**king impossible.”

“You like me?” she gasped out. “That’s how you want to show it?”

“I’m not a f**king flowers-and-chocolates kind of guy. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve never done this before!”

“That’s not an excuse! I’ve never been with an ass**le rocker who thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but you don’t see me humiliating you in public! Or better yet, sneaking out of your house and then not speaking to you for three days!” she threw back in my face.

“Well, I’m sorry, but the biggest cocktease on the planet f**ked with my head, and it took me—”

“Cocktease?” she roared. “I am not a—”

“Would you shut up for one minute?” I yelled right back. “Fuck! Just let me talk, woman.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

“I was going to say, it took me three f**king days to get my head back on straight, and I realized that I can’t escape you.”

“Escape me? What do you mean?”

“I’ve never dated. I’ve just never cared. Never, babe,” I said, running a hand back through my hair. “But I f**king care about you.”

Chapter 20: Aribel

Date Two

Grant and I spent the next afternoon at the movies. I was prepared for one show before going home.

I was still pretty pissed about everything that had happened. Yes, he cared about me. Yes, he liked me. Yes, he had done all these things with me that he had never done with anyone else before. But still, the way he’d responded to it all made me want to throat-punch him.

The ass**le had weaseled his way back in. I could no longer deny that I liked Grant. The three days without him had proven that, and once the anger from him humiliating me had fizzled out, I’d still wanted to see him.

Somehow, he’d managed to pick the movie I wanted to see. He’d said it was what he wanted and that he had been dying to see it since it came out last weekend. I hadn’t even told him that I liked comedies.

Grant slipped his hand into mine as we exited the theater, and he pulled me back toward him.

“What?” I asked.

“Shh,” he said with a mischievous smile.

I narrowed my eyes but held my tongue. He walked us down the hallway we had just come through. Are we taking a back exit to the parking lot?