Page 66 of Primal God

“That sounds rough. What does he have in his head that he’s being unreasonable about?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Well, where are we hiking?”

“Rowlett Nature Trail.”

“That’s about an hour from here, if we don’t hit any major traffic.” I pause. “Enough time for a long story.”

“I’d rather not talk about him, if that’s okay.”

The mood shifts in the car, so I nod. “Of course.”

We ride in uncomfortable silence until Adam leans forward, flipping on the radio. I cringe as country music plays. Guess we don’t have the same taste in music. That’s okay. It’s not a deal breaker.

We arrive at the nature center in less than thirty-minutes, mostly because Adam drives over the speed limit. Again, not a deal breaker. A lot of people drive fast in Texas. And it’s not his fault that I panic when the car I’m in rides up on the car in front of us, like he did several times.

As soon as we’ve parked, I get out of the car and take in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Adam doesn’t seem to notice my turmoil and reaches into the backseat, grabbing a backpack.

“Let’s go, babe.”

Ick. It’s definitely being said in a demeaning way.

“Already at the nickname stage?” I ask teasingly. “What should I call you?”

“I’m not really into the whole nickname thing. It’s weird when a guy has one.” He takes my hand. “Let’s go this way.”

“So why do you get to call me babe, but I don’t get to call you anything?”

“Is it really that big of a deal?”

I don’t answer, making him sigh as he lets go of my hand. He picks up his pace to the point that it’s hard for me to keep up.

“Whoa, can we slow down?”

He says nothing and walks even faster.

I jog up to his side, grabbing his arm. “Hey.”

He turns, swinging.

I gasp as he strikes me across my cheek, and stumble backward as pain explodes across my face.

His eyes widen in horror. “Shit! Lili, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

He tries to reach for me, but I jerk away, cupping my cheek.

“Lili, you have to believe me! I swear that I didn’t mean to hit you.” He runs his hand over his face. “Fuck!”

“I—I think we should call it a day.”

He shakes his head and moves toward me. “I have to make this up to you. Fuck! My dad is going to be so pissed when he finds out! I was supposed to warm you up before?—”

“Warm me up?” I let out a bitter laugh. “Warm me up for what?”

He’s silent for a moment, and I’m not sure he’s going to answer.

Finally, he asks, “Can we find a spot to sit and talk?”

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