The Game (That Girl, #2)(13)
“Your number?” Jake asks again.
His voice draws me from my storm of jealousy.
I’m unable to speak or even focus on him because I can’t take my eyes from the train wreck happening in front of me with Levi.
“Oh, you want her number?” I hear Lynlee’s voice.
“Yeah, we met earlier when she bought a hat.”
I feel Lynlee elbow me, but I can’t look away, “Well, here’s her number. Did she tell you she’s new in town? She needs a fun date night.”
“Um, bye, Jake,” I finally manage as we walk toward Levi.
I stay back while Lynlee rounds him up. It takes some work, but she eventually gets him to his feet. The girls’ audible groans of disapproval make my stomach turn with disgust. I’m a fighter by nature, and this cluster f*ck of drama is about to set me off.
“I can just wait here.” Levi walks up to me in his full sexy prowl. “I’d hate to cramp your two’s style.”
“No, I have one more store to go to, then we’ll head to Wally World.”
Levi refuses to take his eyes off of me, and by damn if I’ll give in and talk to the *. I have no idea why I’m reacting this way, but did he really have to go over to that group of girls? We follow Lynlee like two little kids who were just scolded by their mother and grounded for a week. We walk side by side and step by step right behind Lynlee, but I still refuse to talk to him.
“So, you got a hot date?”
I hear his voice but refuse to answer him.
“He looked real classy with all this tattoos and high end job at the mall.”
Still in stealth mode, I repeat over and over in my head, “I will not speak. I will not speak. I will not tell Levi how big of an ass he is. I will not speak.”
“Are you two getting matching tats or what? When’s the hot date? If you thought I was a walking billboard for STDs, my dear, it looks like you landed the poster child for them.”
No longer can I bite my tongue. “How was your little tramp stamp convention? Learn any new and exciting positions?”
“A couple, but I’m more interested in the prospect of Jake the Snake.”
“I had no idea you swing that way.” It comes out while making no eye contact. If he wants to play battle of the put-downs, then I’m in.
“You’re a complete bitch.” Levi rests his hand on his hip and stares me down. “I just want to know what makes Jake so worthy of your time. I’ve tried talking to you for the past couple days, and you’ve been nothing but a complete snobby cunt to me. I’m sick of it. So, why don’t you tell me what Jake has that I don’t?”
Tears prick at my eyes, threatening to ruin this situation, but I bottle them back like I always do. If I can get through the death of my father and everything else that happened, Levi Wilks' words should mean nothing to me. But they sliced me wide open, causing unbearable pain.
Staring up at him, I let the truth leave my lips for the first time in a long time. “I’m sorry. I went to buy you a hat, and he checked me out. I told him I was looking for a hat to embarrass a friend. I thought of you as a friend. Your lips electrified me in the SUV. I’m not interested in Jake.”
I don’t wait for a response and even break eye contact toward the end of it.
“Lynlee, I’ll be in the car. Don’t rush.”
Walking away, I let the tears fall. All of them, every single last one of them. The grieving ones for my dad, the ‘what could have beens’ for my childhood, and the guilt-ridden ones for my baby who died. They all fall straight to the asphalt and evaporate quickly, like the wicked memories they represent.
Chapter 5
Jazzy
Shit, I forgot to buy blinds yesterday while shopping. The sunlight always wakes me up. I’ve tried everything from sleeping on the couch, pulling the covers over my head, and even rolling off the bed onto the floor. There’s just something about when sunlight hits my eyelids. It’s like magic, and I’m up for the rest of the day. It would be nice to sleep in past six fifty-five some morning.
How in the hell did I forget blinds yesterday when they and tampons were the only two things on my list? Levi, that’s how. All of yesterday’s emotions hit me hard in the gut, and I’m immediately sick all over again. When we returned home yesterday, I came straight to my room in the guesthouse. One nice thing about it being separate living quarters is all the privacy. Lynlee knew better, and I’m pretty sure my bloodshot, swollen eyes gave Levi a clear-cut message. I know he asked about me one of his first nights here, and I also know that Lynlee told him nothing.
I spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening controlling my breathing through several panic attacks and fighting awful memories. When anything sets these off, it’s a downward spiral, and at times I don’t think I’ll ever get out. It can be emotions, memories, or the simple smell of something that brings all of it to a roaring boiling point.
After the accident, I was prescribed meds, and since then I go on and off them all the time. It’s not that I don’t like taking them; it’s just a cycle. Once on them, I feel numb and almost normal, with a sense of happiness waving over me every now and then. Then, like an idiot, I don’t think I need to take them anymore. That’s when the rollercoaster ride goes straight down without warning or sign of stopping.