Page 55 of Needed You

“Stay here with me, Dare,” he says, nuzzling my neck.

I frown as I watch Lev walk away, then I turn to Lance and yank my hand out of his. “What the hell, Lance?”

His hand reaches out for me again, but I take a step back and hold my hands up to stop him from coming closer.

“What the hell was that?” I repeat. I swallow back the uncomfortable feeling that seems to have settled in my throat. “I thought we had . . . I thought you understood. We aren’t . . . We . . .” I take a deep breath. “Lance, I don’t want—”

“You’re ending things,” he finishes for me. “Did something happen with him?” Lance gestures toward the door, where Lev disappeared a moment ago.

I nod. “Just a few times, and it doesn’t . . .” I catch myself because maybe it does mean something. “I’m not sure what it means.” I sigh. I owe him this honesty. “I’m sorry, Lance. Really. I just . . .”

Hurt crosses his face, and he puts his hands in his pockets. “I knew it would come to this at some point. You want to see what could happen with him?” He sounds so resigned. He’s upset and clearly disappointed. “Well, that’s it, then?”

I brush my fingers through my hair and blow out a breath. “I think for now, yeah. I’m sorry.”

Lance nods. “’Kay. Good luck, Dare. Thanks for telling me.”

He turns and heads toward the bar as I send a glance to Ryan, who clearly saw and overheard that whole thing. Ryan is just smiling at me. But my buzz is gone, and I feel like a jerk, so I decide it’s best to just go home.

***

It’s late the next morning when I wake up hungry, my head killing me, the cotton feel in my mouth pronounced, and my eyes burning. It’s my own fucking fault, though. After I got home last night, I drank away all my feelings and smoked a bowl before passing out. I’m also in a crappy mood, thanks to the previously mentioned four things.

However, I force myself to get up and take a shower. The hot water feels good on my tense muscles, and when I’m finished, I get out, brush my teeth, and get dressed in a pair of pajama pants. I go downstairs to get some water and food but come to an abrupt halt when I see my mom sitting in the living room, talking to someone with a teacup in her hand.

I try to veer off into the kitchen undetected, but my mom notices me.

“Ohhhhh, there is my Darian! Darian . . . Daaarrriiiaannnn, come here. Come here and meet my friend, Vivian.”

My mom’s voice grates on my nerves. The last thing I want to do is talk to her and some stranger. I run my hand through my wet hair and turn back to the entrance of the living room.

“Hi, Mom.” I give Vivian my megawatt smile. “And hi, Vivian, nice to meet you,” I say.

My mom, however, sucks in a breath, suddenly looking embarrassed. “Oh, for crying out loud, Darian. Go put a shirt on! Be presentable.”

“I didn’t know you were here, or I would have,” I say through my forced smile. With a tip of my head, I excuse myself and go back to my room to grab a T-shirt. I’m so used to having the house to myself that I normally don’t have to worry about this stuff. They’re lucky I wasn’t naked! I chuckle at that thought. Viv would have gotten a great show.

After I put my shirt on, I go back downstairs and head right into the kitchen. I am either undetected or my mom has moved on. It’s most likely the latter.

I grab some ibuprofen out of the cupboard and then get a bottle of water and the same bag of pretzels that I took to the inlet the other night and head back upstairs. Vivian is looking at me as I pass the room, so I tip my bottle at her and keep going. Once I’m in my room, I pull out my phone and text Ryan to see if there was any more drama after I left last night and to be sure that Lance was okay.

Ryan: Hey asshole! Yeah, all was fine. I mean, he wasn’t happy but he left shortly after you did. I heard you talking to him. So you ended it?

Me: I ended it.

Ryan: Yeah? Any reason whyyyyyyy?

Me: Funny.

Ryan: Did you go to Lev after you left the Exchange?

Me: No.

Ryan: Why not?

Me: Because I have class and I’m not desperate?

Ryan: Now THAT’S funny. Dude, you like him. You ENDED things with Lance because you LIKE him.