Chapter 7
The guy's words echoed across the darkened parking lot. I looked down toward my feet. Unless the guy was an ankle person, hehadto be kidding. Even my shoes weren't terribly sexy – just basic black heels.
I turned and gave Joel a perplexed look. "Where's he going?"
"Why?" Joel said. "You wanna go with him?"
God, did he have to be so awful? "No. I'm just wondering. Like, does he have a ride?"
"Forget him. He can take care of himself."
Well, obviously.
But driving here, I'd passed the Denny's along the way. It was at least five miles down the road. I glanced at the guy's receding back. "But is he walking?"
"Yeah," Joel said, sounding irritated by the question. "To his truck."
I recalled the pickup that I'd seen near Joel's car in the other lot. Suddenly, everything made a lot more sense. The guy hadn't been following me. He'd been heading out to his own vehicle. And yet, he'd made a special effort to turn around and walk me back.
I heard myself say, "He's nice."
Joel made a scoffing sound. "Nice, huh?"
I recalled what an ass Joel had been earlier. "Nicer than you." I glanced away and murmured, "Tonight, anyway."
He stalked forward, closing the short distance between us. "Why are you here?"
I glared up at him. "I already told you, not that you wanted to listen. I came to tell you about Derek." I gave a small shrug. "And other things."
"Like what?"
Oh, sonowhe wanted to know? Funny, there were things thatIwanted to know, too. I said, "So why'd you come back, anyway?"
"You don't know?"
"No," I snapped. "Idon’tknow."
He moved a fraction closer. "I came back because I shouldn't've left you here." He shoved a hand through his hair. "Fuck. If something had happened…"
"But it didn't."No thanks to you.
But I didn't say it, because I wasn't blind to the fact that I'd come out here on my own. If anything bad had happened, I had mostly myself to blame.
Joel's gaze hardened. "Yeah. And you've Cal to thank forthat, huh?"
Yes. I did.That was, of course, assuming that he meant the guy who just left. But Cal wasn't the guy I loved. Joel was, even if he was being a total jerk at the moment.
Looking to move past this, I said, "So what is he? A friend of yours or something?"
"Why? You interested?"
"You know what?" I said. "Never mind. Forget I asked."
Joel made a scoffing sound. "What? You want his number?"
"You mean his phone number?" I stared up at him. "Is that a serious question?"
He looked away, staring off at who-knows-what. After a long, tense moment, he gave a tight shrug that told me exactly nothing.
