He got off the bed and began to put his clothes on.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pru pull her panties on and then she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“I do. This isn’t what I intended. I mean that. I like it when you kiss me. I’m not ready for something more. It scares me.”
“Do you think this is easy for me? I don’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing. This isn’t me, Pru. This isn’t the kind of bullshit I’m used to.” He pulled out of her arms, tugging on his shirt.
“You’re just going to run away again? Like that? Just because I won’t spread my legs for you?”
He turned toward her. “I need to clear my head.” He left her bedroom and made his way out to his car. There was no reason to drive it so he crossed the road and started to walk. No one stopped him, which he liked. No one would be willing to get in his way, and they often moved to avoid him.
He wasn’t the kind of guy to search for conflict. It just always had a way of finding him when he least expected it.
Apart from Pru.
She didn’t move out of his way or give him a break. She would stand and fight. To get around her, he would have to walk or knock her down to keep on moving. This made him stop and glance back. He’d been walking in a straight line but he could barely make out her house. With hands on his hips, he looked back, wondering what the hell he was going to do.
****
The only guy Pru had ever chased down was Sean. Since he was her best friend, it had never meant anything to her to go looking for a guy.
Leaving her house, she saw Drake had left his car. She didn’t even care what that would mean to people passing by her house. She had to see Drake again.
Pulling her hair up into a tight knot, she walked across the street. She saw a couple of kids playing and she went around them. She’d watched Drake come this way, and now she was chasing after him.
It was Drake Connor. Why the hell was she chasing after him? It made no sense, and yet, here she was, doing all the chasing. When she saw him, standing there, staring at her, hands on his hips, she stopped running, slowing down to a walk. “Drake.”
“Do you have a reason to follow me?” he asked.
“No.” She stepped up to him, putting her hands on her hips and looking right at him. “Look, I get there’s something going on here. I don’t understand it. I don’t even know if I want to. You’re used to girls falling all over you. I’m not going to be one of those girls. I’m not going to fall for you and let you do whatever the hell you want. I’m not ready for sex. If that’s what you want, then you’ve got to find some way to get it. It’s not going to be with me.”
“And if I don’t want it with anyone else?” he asked.
“I don’t know, Drake. We’re not friends.”
“I’m not offering you friendship. Can’t we just be this?”
“What is this?”
“I don’t know. I don’t fucking know!” He grabbed the back of his head, pacing. “We can’t do this in public. No one can know about us.”
Pru laughed. “We really should get inside. We’re probably scaring the neighbors or something.” She didn’t want to have to deal with a whole host of questions. “We can take time to figure this thing out.”
“Yeah, that does sound like a solid plan. Do you want me to follow you?” he asked.
“Come on, it doesn’t matter now. We’ve been seen together.” She reached out, taking his arm, ignoring the sting as she walked with him back to her house. There was no one on the street. The kids playing just a few moments ago had vanished.
Arriving back home, she didn’t go to her bedroom but to her kitchen. “What do you want to drink?”
“Coffee, unless you’ve got a beer.”
“No beer. Dad hasn’t been shopping and whenever my mom goes, she always forgets it.”
“By mistake or on purpose?”
“She’s always saying it’s by mistake but I doubt it. If it was just by mistake, she’d only miss it once, huh? I’m not sure. Oh, well.” She flicked the coffee maker on, so very aware of him in her kitchen.
He didn’t speak and she chanced a glance over at him to see him watching her. “What?” she asked.
“Nothing. Your kitchen is really small.”
“Of course it is. It has to be.” She rolled her eyes. “We don’t all have millions to waste on big homes.” She shrugged.
With the cups waiting to be filled, she turned toward him.