Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Alex lurched forward to grab the tray before I could, as though he thought it would compensate for not paying. There wasn’t anything to make up for, though we should probably talk about it once we sat.
We had a number of things we needed to talk about.
“Here, good?” Alex asked as we approached a small two-person booth in the back corner of the café next to the emergency exit.
The air held a bit of a chill from the glass emergency exit, but the tables surrounding us would be empty.
Looked like I wasn’t the only one who realized we had to chat.
We shed our coats before sitting—I’d lent him one since he’d showed up at my house without—and I grabbed my drink off the tray, then took a long sip. The hot liquid warmed me from the inside and had me sighing in pleasure. “Nothing better,” I said as I leaned back in the seat. “Well, almost nothing better.”
Alex also drank from his mug with a grateful expression as though thanking the caffeine gods for the gift of energy. “Yeah, that’s good,” he said as he set the mug down. Then his eyes widened. “Oh, shit. I forgot I need to call a tow truck.”
I stilled as I watched him fish in the coat pocket for his phone. After seeing his reaction to me buying a single coffee and pastry for him, I realized I probably should have asked before making decisions on his behalf. This had the potential of blowing up in my face.
Would it matter that I’d had pure intentions? That I’d only wanted to make things easier for him?
“Um, wait,” I said as I reached across the small table and gently nudged the phone away from his ear. “Don’t call.”
Frowning, he lowered his arm. “Why not?”
“Well, there’s a chance I already took care of it.” I held his gaze. This felt like a pivotal moment for us, and I refused to back down.
His eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. “What do you mean there’s a chance you took care of it?” He pushed away his fork, his coffee cake forgotten.
Well, I didn’t forget a crumb of my breakfast. Fucking Alex twice in a few hours had me ravenous for food, among other things. I took a bite of my sandwich, chewed, and swallowed before answering. “I had your car towed to an auto shop. They texted while you were getting dressed. Your car will be ready this afternoon. And no, I refuse to accept any money, so you might as well deal with it.”
Here it came, the fury, the lecture about overstepping my bounds and throwing my money around. I rested back in my chair as I tried to prepare for whatever caustic words he’d throw my way.
But they didn’t come. Instead, he shook his head with a furrowed brow. “Why would you do that?” The genuine bewilderment in his voice and confusion in his dark eyes broke my heart. Had no one ever done something nice for him?
“I did it because I wanted to, Alex. For you. I wanted to do it for you, to help you out and make today a little less shitty for you.”
His shoulders sagged. “But… but why? Ryder, you can’t stand me.”
I barked out a laugh so loud and so incredulous that it drew stares from halfway across the coffee shop. “Seriously?” I asked, leaning in. “You still think that after last night? Hell, after the last month?”
His eyebrows drew down, giving that gorgeous face the glower I’d come to expect. I’d seen him wear every expression imaginable, from fury to ecstasy, but this serious, slightly irritated one had to be my favorite.
“I… no. The last month has changed things for me too.”
I sighed. Beating around the bush wasn’t my style. Saying most things didn’t come easily to me would be a blatant lie. With money came privilege, and with privilege came safety. I was used to asking for what I wanted and getting it, and I’d be damned if that didn’t happen here, even if I didn’t have an inch of a safety net in this situation.
I rested my forearms on the table, leaning in as far as possible. My heart rate accelerated, making me feel like I’d chugged four mugs of double espresso in minutes. I was about to hand Alex a lot of power.
The power to hurt me.
The only people who’d ever had that power were my family. Given the state of my relationship with my father, I wasn’t feeling too confident about giving another person influence over my emotions. But I had no choice. Alex couldn’t continue thinking I didn’t like him, not when I wanted him so fiercely and for more than just our physical chemistry.
“I’m just going to lay it all out there, Alex. I do not hate you. Never have. There’s no denying I was a dick to you. I didn’t… I never thought beyond showing off for my buddies back then. I have no excuses. It was shitty of me. I own that, and I’m so sorry for it. I made snap judgments without knowing anything about you or your life. And now—”