With enormous effort, I pull back to look down at her, gently bringing my forehead to rest against hers.
“What do you say, Leigh? Give us a chance?” I whisper my plea, all the while silently begging her to say yes.
She bites her lips, as though holding back tears, and shakes her head. “No Max, I can’t.”
“But …” I stammer at a total loss as to why not. She cuts me off with another sharp shake of her head. Her hands drop from my shoulders and she steps back, out of my arms. Right away, they ache to hold her again, to feel her body molded to mine. It’s warmth radiating into mine, chasing away the chill starting to grow inside.
“I can’t.” She turns her back on me and pulls the tools out of her back pocket, putting them away with deliberate care.
“So this is how it’s going to be?” I stand and wait, stunned into silence. Stupid me for finally thinking I was making progress and getting through to her. I’m sure she feels it too, but for some reason, she’s fighting it.
“You won’t even give us a chance?” This is the last time I’m going to ask and my heart plummets to my feet as she shakes her head and I catch the faint whispered, “No. I’m sorry.”
Anger quickly replaces the sting of rejection. Well, she can fool herself all she likes, but I know she feels something. There is only so much chasing one guy can do. Leigh Storm isn’t the only girl in town. There are plenty of other girls won’t reject me. Maybe I just need to find one of them. I turn for the door but stop, resting one hand on the doorframe when I turn to her.
“Is she ready?” Tight-lipped, I nod to my GTO.
“Yup,” comes her curt response and she digs into her jeans pocket; pulling out the keys, she tosses them over to me. I lay the money I owe her onto the roof of Aaron’s Mustang and turn for the door
“See you around, Storm.” I can’t resist using the nickname she hates and take pleasure when her body stiffens. But she doesn’t take the bait in the way I had hoped she would.
More than a little pissed off, I jump into my GTO, finally glad to have her back. Gunning the engine, I pull away from the auto shop faster than is responsible. Not sure where I’m going, I open her up and drive. Fuck that. Leigh obviously has some preconceived idea of me and isn’t willing to let me convince her she’s wrong. I can only try to change her mind so many times, and that was the last time.
Chapter Fifteen
After driving around aimlessly for an hour, I turn and head home. Home. I snort; I wanted us to settle here and now… For the first time ever, I understand Meghan’s love of moving on when the going gets tough. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed so hard to stay here. I could just pack a bag and move on to the next place and start over. A cold feeling spreads over me at the idea of not seeing Leigh again. How sick and twisted is that? Even after she’s rejected me, I can’t bear the thought of not seeing her. Then there’s Meghan. I could never leave her, and it isn’t fair since I made a big deal of wanting to stick around. She and Causey have been getting closer. In fact, wait; is that his car still outside our apartment? Yep, I pull up behind it. It’s obvious he’s head over heels, and if him staying over last night is any indication, she is too.
Without giving them any warning of my arrival, I barge through the front door to find her sitting on his lap, straddling him. Causey’s hands are under her top and I don’t want to dwell on where. I slam the front door loudly behind me, and they spring apart. Meghan tumbles onto the seat next to him, adjusting her clothing. Causey tries to arrange his jeans to accommodate the bulge.
Gross.
“A bit warning next time,” I grunt.
“His car’s outside,” Meghan exclaims, brushing hair out of her face.
“Yeah but I didn’t expect to walk in on this,” I argue, feeling strangely argumentative. They are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“What’s got your panties in a wad?” Causey raises his eyebrows.
“Nothing,” I growl and slouch down in one of the chairs, stretching my legs out in front of me. Exhaustion creeps in, and I want to be alone. I should have gone straight to my room.
“Leigh Storm,” Meghan announces, and I shoot her a look to tell her to shut up but, of course, it’s too late.
“You still hung up on her?” Causey’s eyebrows reach higher. “Told you, you’re wasting your time.”
“Yeah, I realize that now,” I grumble and throw him a hard look. Meghan pushes off the sofa and crosses over to me. Reaching down, she ruffles my hair as if I was a child. I try to duck out the way, which makes her more determined.