“They were ancient!”
“Little blue pills and lube solve a multitude of problems.”
I pulled us to a stop, gaping at him until I noticed a small tick in the corner of his lips.
“You jerk!” I slapped his shoulder. “I thought you were serious.”
He chuckled, steering me toward the exit with subtle movements.
“Seriously, though. They seemed a little intense.”
He nodded, opening the door and guiding me through with a hand on my lower back that burned through my dress.
“I’m used to it. You actually saved me before the inappropriate comments started, so thanks for that.” He smiled at me as we wandered out into the warm night air. A part of me couldn’t believe I was speaking so easily with the man I’d hated for so long.
And then he went and ruined things.
“Oh, hey. I forgot to show you. I wore these just for you.” Pausing in the middle of the parking lot, he hitched up his pant leg to display socks with little rubber duckies stitched into them. “Get it? Duckies. Like you.”
How did he know about the nickname? Had this all been a setup to remind me that I would always be the ugly fucking duckling?
My stomach churned as he waited for a response. What the hell could I say?
With a deep breath through my nose, I blinked against the burning behind my eyes.
“Message received. Take me home, please.” There. Polite, without showing how much it hurt.
Why did I think it was a good idea to trust him with anything? He’d already proven it was a bad idea.
Because I was attracted to him.
Despite how he’d treated me years ago, mynot-good-enough-uglyheart had decided it wanted him.
“Wait, what? What message?” His brow furrowed as he, thankfully, dropped his pant leg back over the stupid socks. I rolled my eyes and bee-lined for his truck. I still had my dignity, dammit, and I didn’t have to stick around and be the butt of anyone else’s jokes. That was the beauty of being an adult, you chose the company you kept.
“Hey, I’m sorry I upset you. I didn’t mean to…” He cut off with a sigh as I resolutely stared at the locked door of his truck.
When the locks clicked open, he reached to lift me into his truck but I brushed his hands away and awkwardly climbed in by myself.
On the drive home, I steadfastly ignored the looks he cast my way. He didn’t get to fuck with my head and then demand answers. If I thought the sudden rift between us would cause even a second of lost sleep for him I might have felt guilty, but Cian would forget about me and my hurt little feelings the second he dropped me in front of my apartment building.
As soon as the truck pulled to a stop in my parking lot, I slid out the door, nearly twisting an ankle on the way down, but nothing would stop me getting inside. Back to safety. The thunk behind me told me Cian had jumped out to walk me to my door, unexpected, and extremely unwelcome. I was done. The burning in my eyes had evolved into a well of tears that blurred my vision, and I’d be goddamned if he saw even one of them.
My keys were in the bottom of my purse, evading my grip as I lengthened my stride.
“Blair.” He was close behind me. Of course. He had stupidly long legs and wasn’t trying to make an escape in stilettos. My fingertips brushed the key set, and I grasped it like a lifeline.
“What?!” My voice cracked.
There was a moment of silence where our the click of my heels and the clomp of his shoes echoed around the parking lot in a synchronized symphony of unsaid words, and I had to work at not turning around.
“I’m scared anything I say to you will make it worse,” he said. His footsteps slowed to a stop, still a distance back as I reached my door and spent no time unlocking it.
“Good night, Cian.”I spared a single glance back as I slipped inside, barely able to stand the way his eyebrows furrowed. The downturn of his soft mouth.
He looked almost… confused. But that wasn’t right. He’d intentionally humiliated me with the reminder of the awful nickname that I thought I’d left with my family.
Apparently not.
