Drive(28)

Lia looked between us with a smile that slowly faded. I saw her neck redden, and then her hesitance right before she took another hearty bite of Reid’s breakfast.

Why was she there? And why would he let her in? Didn’t she hurt him? My sister said she’d left him high and dry. It became apparent she had been in the accident with him. I could see it in his eyes as he looked at her, and feel the guilt when his eyes stopped at the pink scar on her forehead. In that moment, I felt like I was intruding. And in the next moment, I felt nauseated. My chest burned at the thought of him touching her, kissing her.

“I’m going to go.”

“You stay,” she said carefully as she pushed the plate away from her. “I’ll go. Nice meeting you, and thanks for breakfast.

“You’re welcome.”

Reid furrowed his brows as she gathered her clothes at the foot of the mattress and walked into his bedroom before slamming the door.

Reid’s eyes found mine and he let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry. I’ll just go. I didn’t mean to do, whatever . . . I did.”

Without a word, he followed her and shut the door behind him.

Paralyzed and uncomfortable by the drastic turn of events, I heard the start of a heated exchange quickly escalate.

“What am I doing here?” Lia yelled as I made quick work of covering the plate and putting it in his empty fridge. I didn’t hear Reid’s response and didn’t understand why she was upset. But a second later, she made it abundantly clear.

“Got a thing for Paige’s sister, asshole? So, again, why did you call me?”

I heard the sharp edge to his voice, but he kept his response low.

“I saw it, Reid. I saw the way you just looked at her. And you fucked me last night like you hated me! I’m not an idiot!”

Chest pounding with the drama unfolding, I slowed my footsteps and strained to hear his words.

But it was Lia’s voice that echoed through the empty apartment. “I’m ridiculous? You’re ridiculous! We’ve been doing this for four years! This relationship is a circus. I was an idiot to think you had some grand epiphany. I told you not to call me until you were serious. So now what am I? I’m a fucking booty call? A piece of ass to take the edge off? I won’t let you reduce me to that.”

I heard more mumbling as my heart began to pound. Something inside me began to hope there was truth in her words. Four years? She knew him well enough. I tiptoed to the front door, hoping for more, and was rewarded just as I opened it.

“I’m done. Completely done with you.”

The bedroom door opened as I pulled the front door shut. I raced down the steps and hid behind the side of the building just as Lia came out, guns blazing.

“Would you stop!” I finally heard Reid say evenly as he tried to reason with her. “I don’t have a hard-on for Stella.”

“You can’t lie to me. And you know this isn’t about her. Just . . . ” She paused at the bottom step and turned to face him. “I really loved you, you know. We went wrong somewhere, but we have to let go. No more back and forth. I can’t be your comfort anymore, Reid.”

He moved to meet her on the bottom step. His hand went to her face as he leaned over and whispered to her. Lia gasped and hung her head. “Right here. Let’s end it right here before I start to really hate you.”

I couldn’t see her tears, but I knew they were there.

“I can’t believe this is it,” she choked out. “But it has to be.”

I genuinely felt for her in that moment. Selfishly, though, I hoped she meant every word she was saying.

Damn Reid and his whispers. He spoke rapidly as she nodded before she threw her arms around him and held onto him tightly. They stood there for a minute, maybe two, before she fled to her car. Reid watched her pull away before he slowly climbed the steps and disappeared back into his apartment.





Ready or Not

Fugees



A few days later, alone on my sister’s couch, I cranked up the Fugees while I tried to ignore the repetitive image of Reid’s full lips and bared chest when he answered the door. I stared at my blinking cursor and closed my eyes, trying to escape the circulating heat that had everything to do with a set of hazel eyes.

I was attracted to him. Big deal. I could move past that. I needed to focus on saving money and writing for Speak. I was on a mission and didn’t need to play into Lia’s assumption. If anything, Reid was the last man I should be thinking about. But it wasn’t just thinking. It’d gone past that point and moved onto daydreaming. If I weren’t careful, it would be fixating. And the last time I did that, I lost two months of my life on Dylan.

I no longer did crushes. Those were for teenagers, and I’d earned my twenties badge. And despite my recent behavior and stance on adulting, I knew it was time to grow up a little. I had a shitload of work and long strides to make to get to where I needed to be.

My cellphone pinged, but I ignored it. I had hours until Paige and Neil got home. I’d been picking up double shifts for the last week. It was my only day to write, and still, I couldn’t get a single sentence out due to the incessant daydreams. I didn’t know enough about Reid Crowne, aside from the fact that he grew up with two shitty parents, his only love was his music, and he was recently single.