"Fuck off. I'm not interested in you. I never was." She turned to me as tears filled her eyes. "Let's go."
I expected them to stop us, but the guy looked too shocked to do much of anything.
Looks like the rich have the same problems as the rest of us. Drama.
Chapter 9
Val
"I'm so sorry." I got off Tate's bike and tried to keep my emotions on lock down. It was almost as if Paul had me on a tracking device. He'd been involved in my day too many times. It dawned on me then that we did link up our phon
es to find each other just for safety precautions. I'd have to right that wrong – soon.
"No worries. It looks like someone fixed your tire for you, so you're all set to go." Tate handed me my keys and gave me a sexy smile. "Thanks for the date."
"Was it a date?" I took a step toward him and stopped. A confidence that didn't belong to me bubbled up inside of me. I wanted to close the gap between us and run my hands up his chest, testing out my theory that he had a hot swimmers body under his clothes. I loved muscle as much as the next girl, but not so much the body builder type.
"I'd like to think so. I almost beat up your ex-boyfriend. That sounds like a lot of my past dates." He chuckled and slipped his hands into his pockets after I took the keys. "I love your name, by the way. It's beautiful."
"Val?" I scrunched up my nose. I hated my name.
"Yeah, but the fact that it's actually Valentine is even better." He tilted his head as he studied me. "Was that the jerk you went to the party to see the other night?"
"Yeah, and I found him upstairs fucking one of my sorority sisters." I hadn't planned on putting my shitty life on display, but lying to him wasn't going to fly either.
"Ouch. Well, I can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to cheat on a pretty girl like you." He licked at his lips. "So, when do I get to see you again?"
He was confident, if nothing else.
"Soon, maybe?" I hated the fact that warmth had coated my cheeks and neck. I wasn't a high school girl being asked to prom, but for some reason, everything felt uncomfortably new with Tate. "I'll give you my number and you make that decision."
"Not the controlling type?" He lifted his eyebrow as if surprised.
"Only when the urge overwhelms me." I pulled out his card and texted the number on the back with my number. Relief flooded me when his phone buzzed. I didn't know why, but some part of me almost expected him to have given me someone else's number. It was dumb seeing that I was standing in front of his shop, but something had to give. The situation between us felt too good. Too right.
"That's hot." He winked and pulled his phone out, checking it and taking a step back. "Thanks for making my day. See you around?"
"I hope so." I walked to my side of the car and got in without looking back at him. My heart was racing and every cell of my being screamed for me to invite him out later that night, but I didn't. I couldn't. I wasn't lamenting over Paul or worried about anything other than falling for the handsome mechanic who was quick to steal my thoughts. He was the polar opposite of what my parents would expect or approve of, and though it shouldn't have mattered, it did. I couldn't figure out how to get from underneath their oppression, but I knew that bringing home a guy like Tate would only make matters worse.
My parents didn't care how good someone was. They cared how he looked. What he did for a living or was setting himself up to do. They cared about his status, his stature, his wealth.
All the things that I could care less about.
*
I was working to get Paul off of my contacts and turn off my tracking when he called later that afternoon. I contemplated not answering the call, but I figured it would be a good chance to tell him to back off for the last time. I wasn't the girl for him, and I never had been.
"Val, before you say anything, just let me talk. Please." His voice was tight with something between anger and anxiety.
"Fine. Talk." I dropped back on my bed and closed my eyes, praying that the conversation would be over quickly. I needed to get to the courts within an hour to play in a scrimmage that some of the intramural teams were hosting. Coach wouldn't be too thrilled to hear that I'd played when we were in a bye week ourselves, but I didn't care. I wanted to get rid of some unwanted energy and basketball was the most productive way to do it. Sleeping with Tate, of course, was riding high on the list, too.
"I understand that you're pissed, and you should be. I got drunk at the party, and if I hadn't been drinking, I swear on my grandmother's grave that I wouldn't have touched Carolyn. Not ever." He let out a short sigh. "I know you and I haven't been doing spectacular lately, but I see you in my future...like forever."
A laugh and resounding snort left me. "Is this a joke? Am I being punked?"
"What? No, I'm being serious. You're the kind of woman I want by my side. You're classy and smart, you're going places in life, and you have a great family."
A great family? Oh...a wealthy family.