Page 32 of Love Collided

He didn’t turn, didn’t say anything as he shifted and sped up.

In the glow of the dashboard, I could see his jaw tighten, his hands flexing on the wheel. Chase had been nice enough, but I knew there was a more wild side to him. I just didn’t know what that wild side did when he was angry.

“Chase?” I asked, carefully reaching out, my fingers moving along his forearm.

He looked down at where my hand rested on his arm. “Yes?”

“I said, I’m sorry.”

“I heard.”

I pulled away, assuming that meant exactly what I thought it did.

He was pissed, and he had every right to be, but the thought cut through me like a knife.

“What do you want? Do you want me to pay you back or buy a new watch?”

He gave a harsh laugh. “You couldn’t get five thousand more, but you’re going to buy me a ten thousand dollar watch?”

My heart flipped and my stomach churned. “You were wearing a ten thousand dollar watch?” I tried to swallow my shock. It didn’t matter what it had cost, I owed him now. “But yes, if that’s what it takes, then I will. I’m the one who messed that up. I’ll fix it.”

“That’s not what it takes, but I want to know how much he owes. Are they going to leave you alone now?”

I checked my texts again, wondering if my dad had answered. I had texted and called him a few times over the past week without any response.

“I have no idea. I tried to talk to him, but he is either ignoring me or doesn’t have his phone anymore.”

“What is he up to? Why tell them about you?”

“Because they are threatening him, and he doesn’t want to be held responsible. He thinks I’m loaded because the garage is doing well, so he told them I would help pay it. Then, they started threatening me and the crew, so I decided to go along with it until I could figure out how to make them leave me alone. I wasn’t expecting you to hand over your watch like that, though. I would hope that was enough that they will give me a longer deadline for whatever else they want.”

“You can’t just keep giving them money, Scout. If your dad told them about you, and you pay off his debts in return, he is going to treat you like his own little bank.”

“I know, but I’m not really sure what to do to make it stop. I was hoping this was going to be a one-time thing. I wasn’t even thinking about him using me for more.”

He was quiet for a few miles, lost in thought, before he finally looked over at me.

“Keep texting him. We need to know the actual amount that he owes, and he needs to understand you won’t be helping a second time.”

“I’ll keep trying. I don’t know what to do in the meantime.”

“Well, you’ve had a pretty ridiculous night. How about you keep my now-bare wrist company and we figure this out more tomorrow?”

My fingertips moved along his arm, the muscles flexing under my touch. I reached his wrist, laying my hand overtop.

I tried to feel casual about it, tried to remind myself this wouldn’t be weird with any of the guys, but I knew I was lying to myself. This was different.

The air in the car charged, putting me closer to an edge I didn’t know existed. I was trying hard to force my hand to stop before my fingers started to move in lazy circles along his wrist.

I looked up at him, nothing on his face giving away that it was affecting him at all, let alone the same way. Which was probably better. It didn’t need to be going to both of our heads.

He stayed quiet through the ride, not moving away when my hand stayed on top of his. We finally pulled up to our apartments, and he stopped right in front of our door.

“Try to make it up to bed without pissing off any more boyfriends, wandering into any run-down buildings, or losing people’s belongings.”

“I am sorry.”

“It’s fine, Scout. I can go get another one. Maybe after we work on my car.”

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