Life in the No-Dating Zone by Patricia B. Tighe

Author:Patricia B. Tighe [Tighe, Patricia B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YA, teen, Social Issues, love, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Published: 2014-12-01T14:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Nine

Gray

Claire grabbed the dashboard. “Whoa! Slow down!”

I only had three more blocks to her subdivision, then what? Four turns? Five? And then freedom. If I could just drop her off without saying something I might regret, I’d consider the night a win.

“Agh!” she said. “Now I’m positive something’s wrong.”

“Why?” I asked without thinking. Too busy counting streets.

“Because you never drive like this. At least you haven’t when I’ve been with you.”

And before I could stop myself, I showed my teeth and said, “Well, it’s a new day, isn’t it?”

A look of surprise, along with something else, passed over her face. I yanked my attention back to the road, shutting off the desire to apologize. Good, the left turn into her neighborhood was just ahead.

She sucked in a loud breath. “Okay, Mr. Snark, Lindsey obviously hurt your feelings. What happened?”

No, you hurt my feelings. What the—? Where had that come from? Claire hadn’t hurt me. She’d just been stupid. Geez, I needed to go to sleep and get all of this out of my head. Of course, it’d probably follow me into my dreams.

“Gray?”

I shook my head, both to clear it and to answer her. “Nothing happened.” We turned into her subdivision. A weight lifted from my chest. Almost there. Almost there.

I thought I’d made it. I really did. Claire didn’t say anything else all the way to her house. But when I pulled over and started to say goodbye, she drew up a knee and turned completely toward me. Say good night. Or see ya. Something. Anything. But my words seemed to be pitching a tent in my throat.

She put a hand on my arm. “I know Lindsey can be a pain sometimes, but she really cares about people. More than she shows. I don’t know what happened, but if you want to talk about it … you know I’m here.”

Sweet words. Caring words. Words that set off what looked like a video game firestorm in my brain. If Claire had stayed with us instead of running off to Hatcher, she wouldn’t have to ask. She’d know how drunk Lindsey was, she’d know about the tears. About the fact that Lindsey was clearly hung up on Adam. Claire could’ve been sweet and comforting when it all went down, but instead she’d chosen to be inside sucking face with—

I took my foot off the clutch. The car jerked and died. I yanked up the parking brake, then took in Claire’s wide-eyed stare. Blood pounded in my temples. I couldn’t keep the words inside anymore. I leaned forward, careful not to get too close, not to touch her. Because even though I had the impulse to, I really didn’t want to shake her. She folded her arms across her chest like she was trying to protect herself. I hesitated. For about three seconds. But the firestorm flared and I let loose, each word like a missile.

“You want to know what happened? Lindsey and I kissed. And yeah, it was great. And over really quick, because she started crying.

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