It had always been easy for me to laugh off Nova’s concerns about me dating when we talked. If I’d ever been tempted to like a boy around here, those feelings would have been quickly squashed the first time he repeated something stupid about my brother. The way everyone treated Nova around here was a big part of why I wanted to leave town as soon as I graduated. It was also the original reason I’d fibbed to him about my graduation date. I knew he wouldn’t want to miss the ceremony, and I didn’t want him stuck in the audience with a bunch of judgy people who I couldn’t care less about.
Little had I known when I’d given Nova a date a full two weeks later than the actual graduation that my lie would be so useful later. But when the bell finally rang, signaling the conclusion of Mr. Martin’s torture by math and the end of the last regular school day before finals, I knew it was finally time to put my little plan into action.
Leaping out of my chair, I raced toward the door to beat the crowd out of the building. Once I was close to home without anyone near, I stepped off the sidewalk and ducked behind a big oak tree in front of one of our neighbor’s houses. The couple who lived there were out of town, so I knew nobody would be able to listen in while I made a call. I tossed my backpack on the ground, pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and dropped down onto the grass.
A couple of years ago when I was visiting my brother, he’d put a few phone numbers into my contacts. He’d wanted me to be able to reach someone in the club if he was out of contact for too long, but I’d never expected to use them. I was lucky he’d been thinking ahead, though, because now I had Dax’s number without having to ask Nova for it.
After scrolling down to his name, I took a deep breath and jabbed my finger against the screen before I lost my nerve. I bit my bottom lip and let out a little puff of air when Dax picked up. “You okay, baby?”
When he’d called me baby after kissing me, I’d thought it was something special for just me. But hearing his greeting, I couldn’t help wondering if he used the term of endearment for all the women in his life since he had no way of knowing I was the one calling him. I felt as though my heart was being ripped from my body and was getting ready to disconnect the call when he barked, “Arya, fuck. Say something to let me know you’re okay.” An engine revved in the background. “If you can’t talk because someone’s hurt you, baby, you’ve gotta know I’ll find you and fix whatever the fuck happened.”
“I’m sorry,” I gasped as I finally came to my senses with his vow ringing in my ears. “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“You’re good?”
My lips curved up in a tiny grin at how relieved he sounded. “Yeah.”
He turned off his bike, and the background noise on his end quieted. “Maybe we just had a bad connection. I couldn’t hear you for a minute there.”
“Um, no. The connection is fine. That was all me,” I admitted softly, twirling a lock of my hair around my index finger.
“Did you call me just to hear my voice because you missed me?” I swore I could practically hear his smug grin just by his tone alone.
I rolled my eyes before replying, “No, I really did have a reason for calling.”
“Were you surprised I answered?”
Crap, he wasn’t going to let me tell him why I needed to talk to him until I fessed up to why I’d been quiet for so long. My cheeks filled with heat as I awkwardly whispered, “I, um, might’ve thought that you thought someone else was calling you when you answered the way you did.”
He zoned right in on my issue. “Because I called you baby?”
“Yeah.” Nobody could see me, but I still ducked my head and let my hair fall around my face so there was another barrier between me and the world. Being into a guy was a whole new experience for me, and my heart just had to go and pick a guy who could have anyone he wanted, leaving me feeling extra vulnerable.
“I should’ve been clear when I warned you about other guys, so you wouldn’t worry. There’s nobody else for me either, Arya. Just you, baby,” he swore.
My lips formed a perfect circle as I gasped, “Oh.”
“Yeah, so don’t you ever fucking worry about me when it comes to some other woman. I’d never pull that kind of shit on you,” he added.