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She studied me. "I don't mind being a third wheel."
I smiled at her and it was smug. One thing I could guarantee; Dante would stop setting her up to be my 'friend' now. "I mind. One thing I also mind is you watching us having sex. Do you even know how sad and pathetic that is? How desperate?"
Her nostrils flared. I'd finally found a crack in her fake pleasant facade. Good. I'd been looking for a while now.
"What can I say?" As she spoke, her voice changed, her entire demeanor did. It was fascinating and reminded me, like a lightbulb going on, of his mother. "He is awfully nice to look at, even if you did keep getting in the way of my view."
"Like I said, pathetic," I said in disgust, though deep down what I felt the most deeply was satisfaction. Finally she was showing her true colors. "Look your fill, but that's all you'll ever get."
"You really think that," she said slowly, tasting the words. "You're confident, I'll give you that. You're wild in bed, sure. But you're also a manipulative bitch. How long do you think that will keep him entertained? How long do you think it'll take him to realize he could do better?"
I really hated that her words made me ask myself that same question.
It was spooky how much it felt like I was speaking to his mother. Every nuance of her words was crafted in the same way. She had that precise, killer, imminent threat to every syllable of her speech. And exactly like Adelaide, she had a talent for pointing out an insecurity you didn't even know you had.
She created insecurities.
Just like with his mother, I held that against her. By this point, I had a whole list.
"And when he does, I'll be right here," she continued. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'm very patient."
"He doesn't even think you're interested in him," I told her with incredulous hostility, though I wasn't sure who that was aimed at. Dante, most likely. The blind fool.
Yeah, okay, it was definitely aimed at him.
"Good," she said, the word filled with warm satisfaction. "I don't want him to. He'll come to me when he's ready. Just you watch."
I almost punched her, but I managed to maintain my composure enough to just walk away.
Dante came back inside sooner than I'd have thought possible, and looking mad enough to breathe fire, he strode right to me. "Okay," he gritted out. "Message received. We'll stay away from Tiffany, so long as you promise me you'll stay away from Reese McCoy."
"I promise," I told him solemnly, feeling like I'd finally, at last, been heard.
Sometimes drastic measures pay off.
"Let's get the hell out of here," he said, snagging my hand.
I smiled at Tiffany while he made our excuses, turning my head to hold her glaring gaze with delight as he wrapped a solicitous arm around my waist and pulled me outside.
I felt I'd won, because back then I didn't know it was more than a battle; it was a war.
It was sometime later, deep into the night, before I brought it up again.
Dante was in a much, much better mood by then. We were in the backseat of his Audi, parked deep in the woods, several miles from his house. He was on top of me, catching his breath, kissing my temple every so often, his big, firm, edible chest right in my face.
I wriggled underneath him, and it made him groan. He was still inside of me. "I need to get home," I told him.
"No," he said as he pulled out. "Not happening. I'm keeping you."
I was in a serious mood, but that made me smile. "Promises, promises."
He kissed me lightly. "Seriously, though. It's not right that we can't sleep together. There has to be a way. I'm moving in with Gram. I think you should, too."
"You think I wouldn't love that? But my grandma would never agree, and I'm not eighteen yet."
He kissed me again. "We'll find a way."
I didn't share his optimism, but I kept my peace.
