Page 41 of Play It Sinful

“I know, but I want to.”

She glowers. “It’s always about whatyouwant, isn’t it, Sean?”

I wince.Am I acting like an asshole here?

“Of course not. What do you want, Ash?”

She doesn’t answer for a couple beats, but she doesn’t break eye contact either. “Honestly, Sean... I don’t know what I want. But if you’re so keen to walk me to my dorm room, then be my guest.”

I step back to give her space to maneuver her crutches. They usually take a minute to get used to, but Ashley finds her pace quickly. “Have you used crutches before?”

“Yeah. I sprained my left ankle junior year.” She takes a couple of steps forward, then she blurts out, “Shoot. I forgot my backpack in the car.”

“I’ll get it.” When I return to her side with it, she extends her hand, and I give her a droll look. “I can carry your backpack, Ash. Stop being so difficult.”

“Ugh. Fine. I wish they gave me stronger meds to account for you being a pain in my ass.”

“Ha ha. You’re hilarious.”

We don’t speak on the way to her room, and we also don’t bump into anyone we know, which is a welcome reprieve. I’m not in the mood for small talk.

“I need my keys. They’re in the outside pocket,” she tells me.

I fish out a heavy keychain with several keys dangling from it, and frown. “Why do you have so many keys?”

“Because.” She takes the key chain from me and unlocks the door.

Even though she doesn’t invite me, I follow her inside. The mountain of things on her roommate’s bed keeps getting higher. It’s mostly art supplies—canvases, paints, brushes, and sketchbooks—all organized neatly on the mattress. The walls remain bare though, save for the small lights above Ashley’s bed.

“So you’re really living on your own now, right?”

“Pretty much.” Ashley props her crutches against her desk and sits on her bed.

“Where do you want this?” I hold her backpack by the straps.

“You can set it on my desk.”

The silence that follows is heavy. I walked her here, now what?

You should go, dumbass.

That’d be the wise thing to do. It’s clear Ashley doesn’t want me around. But I can’t make my feet move.

“I’m sorry about the library incident,” I blurt out, then look at her.

Her eyes round, and her lips open. “Which part?”

“What?”

“Which part are you sorry about? The fact that you lied to everyone, or that I caught you on the lie?”

I run my fingers through my hair. “I didn’t lie. Practice changed to the afternoon, so I headed to the library to study.”

Ashley snorts. “It didn’t look like you were doing a lot of studying.”

She’s jealous, and that ignites a spark in my chest. “That was me being a dumbass. I’m sorry I ghosted you after. I’m having a hard time with this.”

“This?” Her brows furrow. “Explainthis.”

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