I nodded. He was trying to get her out of his system.
“I can relate.”
Once outside, I called a cab, but Jake took my phone away and ended the call.
He said, “My car’s on the street. I can drive.”
“Have you been drinking?”
He shook his head. “Tara showed up too early for me to start partying.”
He pulled his keys out of his pocket as we headed for his car. He went to the driver’s side, and I got in on the passenger side.
After the doors were shut behind us, he added, fitting the key into the ignition, “When the ex showed up, I knew the normal thing would be to start drinking, but I couldn’t. My mind was racing too much for me to get drunk. I get hyper and restless.” He pulled into the street. “Plus, I like to have a clear head in case we get into a fight.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Is it like that for you and whatever ex I had no idea about?”
I laughed. He wasn’t upset. I relaxed into my seat and shrugged. “He’s not an ex, but yeah, there’s someone else.”
“I wondered about that.”
“You did?”
We paused at an intersection.
Then, he pulled forward. “I’m going to sound like an ass here, but I’ve kinda wondered about it since the beginning, especially when we raced away from those old people. You seemed extra charged that night, and then when we got to your place, you got that text, and there was nothing for me. You called me Wanker.”
“I did?” My mouth fell open.
He laughed, turning onto the interstate now. “It was sort of a blow to the ego, but, hey, I’m the one who fucked up. I had a shot with you, and I went back to Tara. It was a mistake. The two of us…” He shook his head. “We’re bad. I thought she knew that, too, and accepted it. I don’t know why she came today, but she’s friends with some of my buddies. They invited her. She’s got friends who are friends with my friends.”
“She wants you back, but I don’t have to inform you of that.” I leveled him with a knowing look. “You already knew that.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Yeah.” He sighed. His jaw firmed, and his hands clenched tighter on the steering wheel. “Doesn’t matter. No matter how much we loved each other, it’s over.” He glanced through the side of his eye to me. “For good. I have to move on.”
Now, I smiled. Before, I would’ve squirmed, wondered if he’d meant me, but I shook my head this time. “Are you serious? We just told each other that we were trying to forget other people, and you’re flirting with me again?”
He laughed, his hands relaxing on the wheel. “You’re right, but I can’t resist. You’re gorgeous, Jo. Seriously. All those guys back there were checking you out.”
And cue the squirming. “No one noticed me, except for you.” I paused and then relented, “Well, they noticed us when we walked out, holding hands.”
He barked out another laugh. “You’re right. Tara’s going to be fuming about that for months. I’m sure she’s on the phone, bitching to Susan already.”
Susan.
The interview.
Erica.
I cursed.
“What?”
“I’m in trouble.”
“Why?”
“I was supposed to be at that interview, and then I ditched it.” I cringed. “I told Erica I went home because I was sick.”
“Well…shit.” He turned on the blinker and turned right onto my street.
“She’s the kind to hear that I went to your party instead of being there for her, so she will jump to the conclusion that I ditched her to hang out with you instead.” I groaned. “I’m in such trouble. Fuck Ki—” My hand clamped over my mouth. I’d almost said Kian.
Oh my God. My heart started pounding.
I felt the blood draining from my face as I stuttered, “Uh—fuck-ing hell.”
Jake was quiet, swiveling into a parking spot a block down from my building. I waited, my heart pounding, to see how he’d react to that slip.
After he turned the car off, he took the keys out and regarded me for a moment. “Ki, huh? Tell me the truth.”
Oh my God.
He cocked his head up and smirked, a flirty gleam in his eyes. “Did you go and fall in love with Keetan Birches behind my back?”
Keetan Birches?
It clicked. Keetan was in our class, and he’d given me a rose one day. That was when Jake and I’d first begun to see each other. Jake hadn’t thought it was funny, but Keetan was a clown. He’d pretended to propose marriage at the end of class, too, all for a show and all to get to Jake.