"What?" she asked.
"Like you were playing me. And I didn't like it."
She stared at me like I'd lost my mind. "But why would you think that?"
"Because you were hiding something. And I didn't know what."
"So why didn't you just ask?"
"I asked plenty," I said. "And I got no good answers."
"Well…" She turned to look at her aunt's place. "Like I said, I was embarrassed."
"Yeah, andIdon't play games."
She turned back. "Oh, andIdo?"
"Deliberately? Maybe not." I softened my tone. "But c'mon, Lexie. Put yourself in my shoes. What wouldyouthink?"
When she didn't answer, I continued. "Let's say we're going out, and we're hitting it off. But I'm always making excuses so you don't see my house – or my car. And I get all funny when you start asking questions. And while we're at it, let's say I remind you that we're not exclusive. Pretend you're me. What do you do?"
She shook her head. "I don't know."
Shedidknow, and I wanted her to say it. "And let's say you've got my home address at your fingertips. Tell me." I held her gaze. "Are you gonna drive by or not?"
"So…on this drive of yours, what did you see?"
She hadn't answered my question.I gave her a look and waited.
Finally, she sighed. "Okay, fine. Yes. I might've driven by."
My eyebrows lifted. "Might've?"
"Okay,definitely." A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Iguessit would've been hard to resist."
Her smile mademewant to smile. "Hard to resist is right."But I wasn't talking about the drive.
"So what did you see?" she asked. "I mean, you must've seensomething.What was it?"
In my mind, I could still it. "One hell of a party."
She blinked. "A party? What kind of party?"
"A big one."
"How big?" she asked.
"Lots of cars, loud music, you get the picture."
She cocked her head to the side. "Are you sure it was atmyplace?"
On the night in question, I'd checked and rechecked the address, wanting it to be different. "Trust me. I'm sure."
"So, what did you do?"
"Nothing."
She gave me a dubious look. "Nothing?"