Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Marley

I pop up like a jack-in-the-box and finally slip free of Tannen’s grasp. “That’s a great idea! You won’t mind taking him home after you two…catch up, I’m sure. Me and Danni have to go.”

I drag Danni up with me and ignore the look she gives me. Tannen looks like he is about to argue so I go ahead and cut him off.

“You stay and visit friends and Amberly will bring you home whenever. Bye, everyone!”

I half drag, half push Danni through the Lounge and pay for the drinks we both got.

“What the hell is going on, Mar? You’re acting like someone shot a dart in your butt or something.”

“I just…,” I wait until we are outside before I say anything. “I wanted to give Tannen more time to be with his friends and I’m getting a headache. I didn’t want to just go home and leave you there, stranded.”

“That’s why we’re running from The Lounge like we stole something? Because you have a headache? And you didn’t mind leaving Tannen behind? What’s with that?”

I scowl at her before turning to finish the walk to the car searching my bag for my keys. It’s cold and too yucky to stand around outside talking about this shit. A slushy rain/snow mix has started to fall making everything even slicker.

“Fine! The truth is I wanted to leave because we are trying to lose…”

I come up short and blink as I spot the car…and Tannen, leaning against the car like he’s been here the whole time.

“Our ability to speak?” Danni finishes the sentence I started and walks around me. “I think Tannen already figured that one out since he seems to have knocked you wordless.”

“Wh…How?”

“I call shotgun this time!” It’s all he says as he gives me an egotistical look that tells me he realized I was running from him.

The ride to Danni’s is silent and the tension is so thick I’m nearly choking from it. By the time we pull into her driveway, the slush has turned to full-on snow, big white flakes that stick to the road and driveways.

“Thanks for driving and going with me, Marl.” We hug one another and I promise to call her to let her know I made it home safe.

When I head back to the car, Tannen is standing by the driver’s side door. “You want me to drive?” I arch a brow and put my hands on my hips, but he starts talking fast, putting his hands up to show me he isn’t being an ass. “I’m not saying you can’t drive but I kind of remember you being a little freaked out driving in snow when you were in high school. My mom said you would always have Ruby take you to school when it snowed.”

I give him a nod and hand him the keys before I go to the other side much more relaxed knowing I don’t have to drive in this slush. After a few seconds of silence, I finally can’t take anymore.

“It was really sweet that you remembered your mom talking about that and offering to drive for me.”

“No problem.” He gives me one of those smiles that melt my insides.

“You didn’t have to leave your friends or rush away from Amberly. You could have stayed.”

“Amberly? Is that the name of the girl who talked to me?”

“You…you don’t remember her name?” Just when we were getting along so well, he has to do something like this. I’m…stunned. Shocked a little. And just plain disgusted.

“Not really. I haven’t talked to anyone from that part of my life for…well, it’s got to be almost three years now.”

“But…,” he has to…I don’t know, be joking or something. I realize he’s not the hero I thought he was but this is…douchebag behavior that I didn’t think he would ever do. “You…you don’t…remember the names of the women you slept with?”

He takes his eyes off the road for a second to look at me like I’ve grown two heads and am speaking a language he doesn’t understand.

“Slept with? What? I never slept with her.”

“But…she said…she implied you two slept together.”

“Peach, the last time I was home I only stayed a handful of hours and those were all spent with my mom. And that was two years ago. And the time before that I couldn’t even tell you who I saw other than you and the Moms.”

Oh! Some of the anger I was feeling about him not remembering one of his past lovers’ names slips from me. It kind of seemed like there might have been too many to keep up with and that was alarming.

“And I never slept with her before that either. Not ever.”

Why would he lie about sleeping with Amberly? He wouldn’t really have a reason to lie. I guess I just imagined the connection between the two of them. Silence fills the car while I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts.

“You ever think maybe, just maybe, I’m not as much of a manwhore as you seem to think I am?”

“Maybe.” Even I don’t think I sound convinced. “But I still think you made a ‘touchdown’ with a lot of the cheerleaders back in high school.”

“Nope.” Unbelievable. “Never.”

I can’t buy that this hot as fuck man sitting next to me never plucked the fruit that was so willingly being thrown at him.

“Never wanted to plant my flag where everyone else seemed to already have an embassy if you know what I mean.”

I actually laugh at that analogy.

“That’s a nice sound I haven’t heard in a few years.”

We pull into my driveway before laying any more truth on me.

“Things haven’t exactly been…comfortable between us.”

It’s the only excuse I can give him for my surliness over the years. I guess I have been a little bit of a bitch to him for no good fucking reason. Guess the crush affected me more than I realized. The whole time I’ve been thinking Tannen was the bad guy and it’s been me all along. Damn it!