Page 49 of A Win-Win Situation
"Excuse me?"
"I overheard you and your little friends. You only came up to me to complete a dare—to use me." I state matter-of-factly, my words hanging in the charged air. People have used me before, when I was younger, either for money or for a jump in their career. Then they dropped me as if I were a burning match. It’s a pattern I’ve grown accustomed to, and I won’t let it happen again.
Her surprise is evident, and I smile inwardly.
Lucas, one.
Leora, zero.
At my comment, her eyes darken, and they almost match the intensity of mine. She stands up, her teeth gritted, and her hands balled into fists.
"I wasn’t usingyou?" she snaps, pointing a finger at me. "That ‘dare’ was for me to gain some confidence by talking to a man after my ex cheated on me."
Her ex cheated on her?
Suddenly, I remember the conversation I overheard about a certain John—whom I had assumed was a dickhead—and it seems like I was right. I feel my jaw tightening.
Her eyes are flaring. If looks could kill, I would have been incinerated on the spot.
I try to ease the tension so we can talk it out. "Leora, how was I supposed to know about?—"
"Save it," she interrupts, her voice cutting through the tension. "That doesn't excuse your behavior."
The room falls silent, heavy with unspoken words and at this point I don’t know exactly how to react.
EIGHTEEN
LEORA
"Iunderstand you’re upset. Maybe I didn’t handle things well, but can you see it from my point of view too?" he says with a slight calmness to his tone.
I didn't want to use him. I just wanted to talk to him.
"Lucas," I say firmly, "you had no right to assume the worst of me and treat me as you did. I didn't deserve that." He looks taken aback, but I continue, my voice unwavering. "I approached you at the club because I wanted to talk to you, not because I wanted anything from you. I have my own money. I can take care of myself, and I don’t need you. But you didn't even give me a chance to explain before jumping to conclusions."
His eyebrows raise, and he takes a step toward me, towering over me. Suddenly, my whole bravado disappears, and my nerves take over. My fingers tingle, and my stomach flips as I try to stand my ground, but his imposing presence makes me feel so small.
His eyes lock onto mine. "And you don’t think your behavior was wrong?" My body involuntarily tenses at his confrontation. A surge of adrenaline courses through my veins, setting my heart racing and creating a subtle discomfort. I know I was in the wrong, but a stubborn part of me yearns for him to acknowledgehis wrongdoing first and offer an apology that would soothe the ache of our recent clash.
With an airy touch, he raises his hand and uses his index finger to brush away a stray strand of hair that has fallen across my face.
"Aren’t you going to apologize?" I try to sound composed, but it comes out as a whisper.
Lucas lowers himself, so we are eye to eye, and a charged silence hangs in the air. His gaze locks onto mine, and for a moment, the world seems to pause.
His eyes are so dark, they’re almost black yet in his right eye there’s a speck of gold, a captivating anomaly that draws me in.
His lips curve into a subtle, mysterious smile, and he leans in just a fraction closer, leaving me breathless. My heart races as I struggle to maintain composure. "We’re not going to solve this today. Be ready tomorrow at ten. We’re visiting Ammo." The warmth of his breath sends a tantalizing shiver down my spine. Without another word, he straightens, turns his back to me, and walks away from the living room. I'm left standing there, caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.
What the actual?—
I had hoped we would resolve this, but it looks like we won’t. It takes me back to when John and I would argue. He would simply dismiss me left and right, not allowing my feelings to be validated. Whatever he had done, I was always in the wrong, whether it was because I actually did something or because he had hurt my feelings. It was always,"You provoke me into saying stuff I don't mean,"or,"Why are you upset? What about my feelings? Do you ever stop to think about them?"Then, I was the one feeling guilty, which led me to apologize unnecessarily. I’m not going through that again, real or fake. That’s why I want him to apologize first. It might be childish and wrong, but I need it.
At the thought of my past, a surge of emotions lights me up, and with renewed determination, I follow Lucas into a hallway.
"Lucas." My voice is filled with conviction. He turns to face me, his expression guarded.
"I won't apologize," I say firmly, looking him directly in the eyes.
