Ryan.
I was going to have to have a little talk with that little bastard.
After finishing my cake, I stood. “Thank you so much for the tea and cake, but I need to go track down Ellie.”
“She’s not answering her cell phone?”
“I thought she said she was coming over here; I haven’t even tried to call her yet.”
Sue gave me a sweet grin. I instantly felt guilty for lying to them. Here I was trying to sneak a moment with Sue and Mark’s daughter, and they were none the wiser.
I’m an asshole with a capital A.
“No need to show me out; I know the way.”
“Okay, sweetheart, you have a good day,” Sue said.
“Keep up the good work on the football, Johnson!” Mark called out, never looking away from his paper.
“Yes, sir,” I replied. “Thank you again, Sue.”
“Tell your mother we said hello!” Sue called out as I made my way through the house and to the front door.
When I walked outside, I saw Ari sitting on the tire swing. Her back was faced toward me so she wouldn’t see if I just left. But I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to talk to her, make sure she was all right.
Dragging in a deep breath, I made my way over to her. “Everything okay?”
“Go away, Johnson. I’m not in the mood to do battle with you today.”
My heart ached at the sadness in her voice.
“Your mom told me about your date for prom.”
Ari groaned and buried her face in her hands.
“Fuck him, Ari. If he doesn’t want to go to prom with you, then you’re better off.”
Her arms dropped in her lap. “He did want to go with me, Jeff. It’s what he wanted to do after prom that I wasn’t down for.”
Anger pulsed through my veins.
“Which was?”
She spun around and stared at me. “Fuck. He wanted to rent a hotel room and fuck like rabbits the whole night. His words. Not mine.”
I was ready to explode. “That motherfucker. I’ll kill him.”
For a brief moment, Ari looked like she was going to smile, then her expression changed.
“I don’t need you and your brotherly love fighting my battles.”
My owns words thrown back at me caused me to stumble a step or two back.
“Ari . . . I didn’t . . .”
“Please go. Just go, Jeff. I can’t do this with you today. Not today.”
The tears filling her eyes had me dropping down to my knees and cupping her face within my hands.