“Fuck you, Cameron. Leave me the hell alone.”
I started walking again, trying to calm myself down. I hated how fast he could make me angry. I was aware of my temper, but nobody could light it up as fast as he could.
He walked beside me but stayed a few feet away. Thoughts raced in my head. One after the other.
Bottom line was, riding with him in the same
vehicle wasn’t going to work. We had to repair his motorcycle. Fast. I could deal with him at the new job. I just had to make sure other people were around us all the time and I would treat him the way I treated other people I worked with. That was a good plan.
“Hey, listen,” I said. I felt calmer now. Considerably.
He studied my face and must have seen the storm had passed. He moved closer so he could hear me properly.
“So if I believe that you really did lose your phone—”
“I did.”
“—that meant you didn’t get my text. Dylan ordered the wrong part, but I fixed that already. I’m sorry,” I said, nearly gagging at the word sorry. “It will take three weeks again. Unfortunately.”
“I guess you’re going to have to keep driving me around.”
My eye twitched. “No, I’m not. That deal was broken when you left!”
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I lied to you about the truck.”
That caught me off guard.
“It was the only way you’d…stay with me,” he continued. He sounded so vulnerable, I felt my heart squeeze. “I know you don’t owe me anything, but…can we still keep it?”
“Keep what?”
“Our arrangement,” he answered. “Please?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Why then?” I asked, my voice sounded thick.
“Why what?”
“Stop acting like you don’t know what I’m asking you.”
His face suddenly lost its vulnerability and was replaced by his stone-cold mask. It was all I needed to remember all the things that happened before. Anger easily took over.
“How long do you think you’re going to use that excuse of an arrangement?” I snapped. “I’m tired of it!”
He didn’t answer.
“How long?” I repeated.
He threw me a look. “As long as it takes.”
“As long as what takes?”
“For you to like me again.”
I curled a fist against my stomach when I felt a flutter there. “That’s never going to happen. Ever.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Because I’m just like everybody else.”