I go to leave, but his hand closes around my forearm. “Why did you lie to me?”
His tone makes it clear he’s equally disgusted and angry.
My heart twists painfully in my chest. The only way to fix this…is to give him total honesty.
“Because of the way you’re acting right now,” I whisper, releasing myself from his hold so I can curl my arms around myself. “It’s bad enough I don’t look like the other girls you mess around with. I didn’t want you to also think I was a loser who couldn’t get laid.” My throat swells tight. “I know I should have told you before we…but I…” I glance out the window as another tear rolls down my cheek. “I didn’t want to give you any more reasons not to be with me.”
“So you tricked me.”
My head whips around at his accusation. “Oh, please. It was hardly a trick. I’m sure you’ve fucked lots of virgins.”
Only unlike me, they got the full experience.
“You’re wrong,” he snarls. “I haven’t fucked any.”
I blink in surprise. “What?”
“Virgins complicate shit.” An ugly snort leaves him. “Girls get clingy enough after sex, and the last thing I want is to escalate that bullshit by popping someone’s cherry.”
Emotion punches through my chest and the need to protect myself runs rampant throughout me. “Guess it’s a good thing we were interrupted then, huh?”
I reach for the door handle, but his hand latches on to my knee. “I’m not looking to hurt you.”
“Funny. Because you just did.”
“Goddammit,” he snaps when I snatch my purse off the car floor. “This conversation isn’t over.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s over for me.”
For once, he can see how it feels to be ignored.
I go to exit the car for a final time, but Phoenix grabs my face. “This is not fucking over.”
And then his mouth is on mine, kissing me so hard my mind whirls and I forget we’re fighting.
“You’re complicating shit,” I breathe against his lips before his tongue plunges inside.
“No.” His hand tangles in my hair as he pulls back slightly, looking down at me through lowered lids. “I’m pursuing this.”
My heart takes flight, but my brain doesn’t want to hop on board just yet. I have so many questions. Like—how are we going to make this work when both of us are leaving? And does this make me his official girlfriend now, or is he only pursuing for the next week?
All my worries jump to the back burner when Phoenix palms my breast. “You drive me fucking crazy.”
Not nearly as crazy as he drives me.
“I’m sorry I lied.” I never looked at it from his point of view and now that I am…I see I was in the wrong. “I kept telling myself you’d never be attracted to a girl like me and I let my insecurities take over.”
But if I don’t get a handle on them soon, it will ruin everything between us.
I close my eyes as his mouth moves to my neck and he places my hand over his erection. “Does this help clear things up?”
My heart takes off in a gallop and warmth pools between my legs.
“Do you have another condom?”
The need to finish what we started is greater than my need for air.
“In my pocket,” he rasps, nipping my collarbone.
Reaching inside his pocket, I pull out the foil packet as his fingers toy with the button on my jeans.
A hard knock on the window, followed by an angry throat clearing, makes us both jolt.
“What the fuck—” Phoenix growls at the same time I screech, “Oh my god.”
My dad’s glare bounces between us…and if looks could kill, we’d both be in caskets right now.
“Shit,” Phoenix mutters under his breath as we break apart.
I silently tell God to knock it off and stop upping the humiliation ante as I exit the car.
“Inside, Lennon,” he seethes. “Right now.”
I love my dad, but he needs to stop treating me like a baby. I know witnessing his daughter getting hot and heavy with a guy upset him, but I’m a grown-up now.
I cross my arms. “No.”
That’s when Phoenix steps out of the car.
My jaw drops because I expected him to drive off. I wouldn’t even blame him for it.
“Who the hell are you?” my dad barks, even though his intimidation tactics are almost comical since he’s a good five inches shorter than Phoenix. “And what were you doing with your paws all over my daughter?”