AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re done, I swear,” Melody sighs and wipes her eyes, and finally, the conversation moves on.
But I feel like Ford is watching me the rest of the night. He gets a table with Carmine and Brice on the other side of the restaurant,well out of sight, but I can’t stop thinking about him. What the heck is Ford doing here? Other than having a meal with his friend and his friend’s wife? I mean, it feels like too much of a coincidence that I ran into him at Sara Lynn’s birthday, and now he’s eating at the same restaurant barely a few weeks later and looking at me like he wants to drag me into a bathroom caveman-style and do unspeakable things to my naked body.
Sometimes I forget that I despise the man and have to remind myself to keep my distance. It’s not that he’s rich and arrogant—he’s dangerous.
I manage to have a decent meal and stagger out into the night with my friends. I’ve had one too many glasses of wine and I’m feeling tipsy so Tina calls me a cab. “You sure you’re good?” she asks. “Melody and I are going to split a ride across town.”
“I’m fine, I’m totally fine. The house isn’t too far from here.”
“Try not to fall asleep in the back seat,” Melody says and gives me a tight hug. “See you at work at eight sharp. You’re mucking out the stalls.”
“You truly love to torture me, don’t you?”
She kisses my cheek and walks off with Tina. They pause to wave and I wave back, glowing with affection for my friends and a little bit of wine. I keep thinking about Ford like he’s some intrusive idea I can’t manage to ditch, but he never came over, never spoke to us, and I can safely put that behind me. That thing with Ford at the Oak Club was just a bizarre fluke, probably some weird power thing to piss off Sara Lynn and the rest of my family, and I need to start focusing on what matters.
My grandfather, my mother, and finding a suitable match.
Once that’s done, maybe Grandfather will be happy enough to give Mom another chance. The possibilities are endless. Maybe we can get her into a better program or bring her back home and pay for someone to help her out as a kind of outpatient thing. As soon as I start daydreaming about having my mother back sober and happy, I can tell that I’ve already lost.
Because this is the dream: my mom home and alive and healthy for once in my life. If I have to marry some guy to make that happen then I will. Grandfather’s going to lose patience for Mom sooner or later unless I do something to keep him happy, and as much as it hurts me to give myself away like this, at least it’ll buy Mom some more time to put herself together.
I’m tipsy enough to ignore the voice in the back of my head that whispers,Mom’s never going to be sober and you know it.
The cab pulls up and I hurry over. I pull open the door, get inside, breathe in the smell of stale menthol cigarettes and peeling vinyl, but before I can slam it shut a hand grabs the edge and yanks it back open.
I yelp in surprise as Ford Arc shoves his way in with me, pushing me aside across the bench like it’s totally normal.
“Hello, Kat, mind if we share? You don’t mind one bit. Driver, head uptown, she’s going that way.” Ford rattles off an address and the cabbie pulls out.
“What are you doing?” I ask, staring at him and trying to get myself together. I was practically just daydreaming about him and now here he is, shoving me over like I’m luggage. “I mean, uh, hi, Ford, but I’m sorry,what are you doing?”
“Sharing a cab with you, which is something people do from time to time. Apparently. So I’m told.” Ford leans back against the seat and watches me. “You didn’t come over and say hello.”
I clear my throat and wonder what the heck this guy is doing right now, but I’m too flustered to think properly.
“And neither did you.” I bristle slightly and lean away from him. “It’s weird you just barged in here, you know. Like seriously, very weird.”
“It’s weird you never called or at least sent a dirty late-night text. We can call that even.”
I let out one sharp laugh. Maybe I’m drunker than I realized because normally, I’d shrivel up and die at the thought of sparring with Ford Arc, but right now I’m feeling happy that I have friends who care about me and a job I like and good wine flowing through my veins, and I have a vision of what I want for the future, and I’ll be damned if I’m about to letFord Arcruin my good mood.
“It’s amazing you think someonenotcalling you is weird. That’s like the height of arrogance. And do women seriously send you late-night dirty texts? Sounds desperate and sad.”
“Is it arrogant? I thought it was rational. I saw the way you were looking at me that night, Kat.”
“I’m sorry,what?”
“You know what I’m talking about. It’s the same way you were looking at me tonight. Very intensefuck-meeyes.”
“You’re absolutely out of your mind.”
“Oh, good, now you’re going to deny it. Are we going to skirt around the issue then? That’s fun, I like to play.”
“I’m not playing games, Ford.” I gape at him, trying to understand what the heck is happening as the cabbie navigates through the Dallas streets. “I really have no clue what you’re talking about. I wasn’t looking at you likeanything.” Although maybe come to think of it, there might have been a bit offuck-mevibes happening inside my head and maybe that translated externally, but no, Ford is just being an asshole.
“Okay, how about we make a deal? If you open that clutch up right now and show me that my card isn’t still inside, I’ll get out of this cab and walk the rest of the way home. But if it’s there—”
“I’m not playing,” I say quickly, which only makes him laugh.
