Conflicted

“Thanks for the lift. I appreciate it,” I say, hoping he takes the hint and goes.

“No problem. Are you sure I can’t help you to your room?”

My eyes shoot up and meet his. I can’t tell if he meant that innuendo or not, but either way I’m blushing furiously. He chuckles and turns on his heel.

“I’ll see you Monday, Miss Anderson,” he says. “Perhaps you should invest in a less dangerous pair of heels.” The door slams closed before I can retort. Not that I had a decent response anyway.

I limp to my bedroom and collapse on the bed. Staring at the ceiling, I don’t even h

ave the energy to change out of my still-damp clothes. Of all the people to run into, it had to be him. If he wasn’t regretting his choice in hiring me before, he would be now. Closing my eyes, all I can picture is that damn knowing smirk. Walking into his office on Monday morning is going to be interesting at the very least. Let’s hope I still have an internship by the end of the day.

I’m going to kill Lucas.

Chapter Ten

Lucas

Cracking open my eyes, I squint at the morning sun that is blaring through the open curtains in my bedroom. I lean over and grab my phone to check the time. Make that afternoon sun. And barely afternoon anymore at that. How the hell did it become nearly five in the evening?

Sitting up, my body aches, leaving me wondering what I did last night. I feel like I’ve gone ten rounds of paintball, my body is that sore. I remember leaving the club not long after Lacey left, with some chick who offered me a lift home. I remember stopping at Fast Lane for some food and making out in the parking lot. After that, my memory is hazy.

I stumble into the bathroom and stare at myself in the mirror. Apart from my bloodshot eyes and the giant, unmistakable love bite on my neck, I look good. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t remember much.

After a hot shower and a few Tylenol, I’m feeling more human. I check the fridge for some food. My choices are limited to off yoghurt and week-old Thai. Neither sound all that appealing. Giving up, I grab my phone instead and call Lacey. She takes her time in answering, and when she does she sounds annoyed.

“I’m not sure I’m talking to you,” she mutters.

“What did I do?” I protest. For a moment I’m worried that I actually did do something, because I still can’t remember shit.

“You and your stupid plans, Lucas. Why am I always the one who suffers?”

“What are you talking about?” I ask. I rub my head. I can’t take this today. Everything already feels too hard.

“If you’d been thinking of me last night instead of yourself, then maybe I wouldn’t have looked like an incapable idiot in front of my new boss,” she says.

I sit forward. That got my attention. “You mean Aaron Wilmot? What does he have to do with anything?” I ask.

“I fell over when I was walking home last night—”

“You walked? At that time of night?” I repeat. I’m pissed off at her. What was she thinking?

“Save it, Lucas. I already got the lecture from Aaron, who just happened to be driving past.” She sighs. “He stopped and gave me a lift home.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” I grumble.

She was in his car. He probably had his hands all over her. My jaw twitches as unwanted images of the two of them filter through my mind. Why did I make her wear that fuck me dress? I know exactly why: so I could pretend she was wearing it for me. Seeing every guy’s eyes on her when we walked into that club was too much for me to handle. I had to stop myself from wrapping my arms around her to show them she was mine. I don’t handle losing control of myself like that—especially when it comes to Lace. I can’t afford to lose my shit around her. So I did what I always do: I put distance between us in the form of other women. I made her think that she was the last person on my mind when she was all I could think about. She’s all I ever think about.

And all I did was push her into his arms. Literally.

“What was the point?” she laughs. “You were so drunk, what could you have done?”

She has a point, so I shut up.

“Look, I gotta go,” I say.

“Fine, but you rang me,” she points out. “You’ve been acting really weird lately, Lucas. I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” I sigh. “I’ve just got some shit going on. It’s not a big deal. Call me tomorrow after your first day, okay?”