Page 27 of Sweetest Hate

"Thanks. Now give it back." I breathed a sigh of relief and clutched it carefully when he handed it to me, making sure not to touch the paint. "You shouldn't touch other people's things."

"I was curious." He cocked his head, seeming to study me as if he could catch a glimpse of my mind.

That was it? I glared.

"And you didn't answer my question. What's with the crazy water and stuff?" He glanced toward the lake before turning back to face me with furrowed brows.

"Oh my God. It's none of your business." I set the canvas down and started gathering my stuff, glancing up at him with narrowed eyes. "Why are you up here anyway?"

Arsen stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You really going to stay with Quinn tonight after the shit he pulled last night?"

I sighed with irritation. "Why do you care?"

I hadn't missed that he'd avoided another question with one of his own, but it didn't make sense to me why it would bother him so much if I stayed with Quinn. He hadn't agreed with what Quinn had done, and neither had I, but it still didn't explain why he was acting like he cared. Did he expect me to stay in his room again? I couldn't even imagine he wanted me to.

Arsen simply stared at me.

Once my art supplies were all packed up and I had wiped away as much paint from my hands as possible, I shouldered the strap of my art portfolio case across my body and carefully held the drying canvas in my clean hand. "You know what? I don't even care."

As I started walking away from him back toward the cabin, he fell into step with me. "And if he brings someone back with him again?"

"Don't worry. I won't come knocking on your door," I assured him. Maybe that was why he felt he had the right to interrogate me about my plans.

Arsen was quiet again, and I honestly didn't know what to say to him anymore. He wasn't answering my questions anyway.

Just as we reached the treeline before it opened to the grounds surrounding the cabin, Arsen tugged my arm. Spinning around, I cocked a brow.

"If you plan on running off again, to paint, or anything else, tell someone." And then he stalked off, leaving me staring at his back.

What the hell was that about? I would never get a read on Arsen. That much was clear, but as his words replayed in my head, I was half-assed convinced he'd been worried. Which made no sense.

Shawn caught my eye as I entered the house and stood from where he'd been sitting on the couch, kicked back with Sophie while the TV played something that sounded like an action flick.

"Did Arsen find you?" he asked.

I stopped in my tracks, wondering how he'd known Arsen had run into me. Had he actually been looking for me? "He might have."

Shawn nodded and cocked his head. "What did he want?"

"I have no idea," I answered honestly and voiced my question aloud. "Was he looking for me?"

Shawn smirked. "I think he asked about twenty people if they'd seen you."

With that parting comment, he headed for the kitchen, grabbed a beer, and returned to the spot where he'd been sitting with Sophie. Meanwhile, I stood rooted in place. Arsen was confusing me and seemed to enjoy dodging my questions. I still didn't know why he'd been looking for me or why he'd almost sounded capable of being worried about someone. It didn't seem he was in any hurry to fill me in either.

"There you are," Quinn shouted as he walked in the door. "About time you came back. Wanna take the Jet Skis out?"

After the little showdown I'd shared with Arsen, that sounded safer than running into him again. And the water would provide a nice distraction. "Let me change first."

"Meet me at the dock in ten," he called out before disappearing into the kitchen.

Dismissing my confusion at Arsen's behavior, I made my way to Quinn's room to get my boardshorts and find someplace safe in the room for my art to dry.

Ten

Arsen

"We're out of beer."Blake knocked the lid down on the cooler we'd dragged out here on the dock.

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