“Girlfriend,” he bites out, his voice like gravel.
The phone swivels toward me like a spotlight. Heat rises to my cheeks as the girl arches a perfectly shaped brow.
“Can we take a picture?” she asks, still undeterred. Still clueless.
Shameless.
“No,” Jake says, flat and final.
She pouts, stepping closer like it’s a negotiation. “Come on. Just one?—”
“I said no.” His voice cuts like glass. “Walk. Away.”
For a second, she stalls. Then her friend tugs at her arm, muttering, “Let’s go. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
The first girl whips around, fury igniting. “Embarrassingmyself? Who do you think you are, asshole? You can’t talk to people like that. Just wait ’til this hits socials.”
Jake’s expression darkens. “Oh, I’m sure the world’s dying to meet a bitch like you.”
“Jake!” I hiss, my heart sinking. I already know how this will be twisted. How the headlines will write themselves.
“It’s not worth it,” I say quietly but firmly, my hand still pressed to his arm.
The girls stalk off, whispering loudly, and Jake exhales through his nose like he’s forcing down the urge to chase after them.
I kneel, scooping up the remains of my burrito and tossing them into the nearest bin.
He watches me with his jaw still clenched.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “That was…”
“Not your fault,” I interrupt gently, brushing invisible crumbs from my hands. “But maybe we’ve had enough LA for one day.”
He nods, looking wrecked. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”
He reaches for me, just a soft touch to my arm, tender and grounding.
And I flinch. Not because of him. Not because I’m scared.
Because I’m overwhelmed.
Too many voices. Too many eyes. Too many tiny cuts that finally started to sting.
And still, I want to reach back. I want to choose him anyway.
He pulls his hand back immediately, his eyes wide with guilt. “Sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
“I know,” I say quickly, already hating that he’s blaming himself. “It’s not you.”
He doesn’t speak, just nods once. The muscles in his jaw twitch.
And then he reaches for my hand again.
And this time, I don’t let go.
CHAPTER 23
AMY
