Page 52 of Yesterday I Cared
His bottom lip disappears between his teeth, and I want to free it, to get him to say whatever he was trying so hard not to say right now. “Whatever you may have thought, I want you to know that I don’t regret that night. I never wanted to pressure you into anything, but I wanted you then. That night was pretty great, if you ask me.”
A faint blush coats my cheeks. “It was, wasn’t it?”
The cheeky grin that is known for getting women into trouble with him appears, and all the tension between us disappears. This is the man I missed, the one who was my friend and who could always make me laugh. “I’ve never gotten any complaints, you know.”
I laugh, shoving him lightly. His laugh floats through the air as I link my arm through his so we can keep walking. “I’m glad we’re friends again, Ronan.”
His hands slide into his pockets, keeping step withme. “Me too.”
“Joy is going to be so proud of me.” My comment earns me a snort of laughter. “What? She is! I’ve officially been on five dates, and I fixed a longtime feud with someone.”
“Does this one count? Because I definitely saved you from this one.”
My eyes widen as I look up at him. “Because the only thing they could talk about were bugs, Ronan.”
“That’s because they’re an entomologist, Mia.”
“Yes, in food production and disease prevention.” I shiver. “I’m going to have nightmares about bugs crawling on my food and giving me diseases.”
“I think it’s safe to say you and the entomologist don’t have a future together.”
“Stop making fun of me,” I whine. “This also means I’ll have to tell Bryce and Josie the real reason I’ve been a jerk to you.”
“Bryce knows. I mean, about what happened in Indianapolis. I told him when it happened, because I wanted him to know. He doesn’t know that’s why you’ve been so mean.”
For the second time tonight, my jaw drops open. “Hewhat?”
“Yeah.” Ronan grins. “And I think that he told Josie.”
“So, this whole time I’ve been keeping this from them to protect her and they’ve known?” He nods and I groan. “God, I’m never going to hear the end of this.”
A couple of days later, the six of us are at Bryce and Josie's, ready for another game night. Honestly, I don't know why we keep doing this to ourselves. The night always ends with one of the guy's pouting and us girls moving out to the patio with glasses of wine while theyargue about the real winner. I guess that's what happens when you try to do anything competitive with a bunch of Olympians. They always like to win.
The first thing everyone notices is that Ronan and I drove together. He offered to pick me up since he passes my apartment on the way from his condo. Carter is getting out of his own car with Kat when we pull in, his eyes widening when he spots me in the passenger seat.
He's storming into the house ahead of us, calling for Bryce.
"What?" Bryce questions, coming out of the kitchen with a towel in his hands. "Why are you screaming at me, dude?"
“Am I dead? Because I think I’m in some alternate universe.”
"What?" I want to roll my eyes at how overly dramatic Carter is being. Bryce is just more confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Your boyfriend is the most dramatic person I have ever met," I tell Kat, who's standing next to me in the entranceway.
Josie comes jogging down the stairs, brows furrowed. "What the hell is going on?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Bryce says. "Carter came running in here and asked if he's dead."
Josie’s brow furrows. "What? Why would he be dead?"
"Carter is freaking out because I drove Mia here and he happened to arrive at basically the same time."
At Ronan's explanation, it goes deadly silent. Carter and Kat seem to wait with bated breath for the other two's reactions. Josie and Bryce, however, are doing that annoying silent communication thing she and I perfected years ago.
"Stop that." I snap my fingers in front of Bryce's face. "It's only cute when Josie and I do it. Just say whatever you want to say."
"Did you kidnap her?" Bryce asks hesitantly.
