Page 43 of That's Too Pucking Bad

He raises a brow. “We’ll see about that.”

I don’t bother arguing. Instead, I sigh, setting my bag on the table. “Okay, so why are we here? You dragged me all the way across town for… what, exactly?”

His expression shifts, softening a little as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small flash drive. He holds it out to me, and I stare at it, confused.

“What’s this?”

“Your data,” he says, handing it to me. “Since I was the one who destroyed your phone, I figured I’d get the info from it and put it on here.”

I blink, shock settling in. Once the iCloud storage downloaded everything it could remember, it didn’t transfer over at least a third of my info, so this… this makes me happy. “Wait… you… got everything back?”

“Yeah.” He looks a little sheepish, almost, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I, uh… felt bad, alright?”

“Zane…” My voice trails off, and before I can think better of it, I throw my arms around him, hugging him tight. He’s warm, solid, and his hands slowly come up to wrap around me, holding me close.

When I finally pull back, he’s got this soft, almost surprised look on his face. “I could get used to that,” he murmurs, his fingers brushing my cheek. “You should hug me more often.”

I snort, rolling my eyes. “You’re insane.”

He grins, that cocky smirk returning. “You’re so damn stubborn. It’s cute.”

“Thanks, Zane… for this. Really.”

He watches me, his expression unreadable.

“Do you like the latte?” he asks.

I nod. “Sure, yeah. It’s good. Aaron must know what he’s doing.”

At that, he reaches over and forces his tongue in my mouth. The wetness sends a jolt through my body. He bites the fuck out of my bottom lip.

“Don’t,” he warns.

I pull back, staring into his eyes. “I’m not something that you can just do whatever the fuck you want to,” I whisper.

“No, but you just want to shove in my face constantly how you’re not mine. But you are.”

He kisses me again, and I stop myself from fighting him. First, I’ll make a scene in this café and second, I’m so turned on that I’ve decided to hate myself.

I pull away, and he’s staring at me dazed.

I whisper, “I’m gonna go.”

He watches me closely, rubbing my palm before leaning back like it’s no problem at all.

“Bye, Remy,” he says, his voice low.

I hesitate for just a second before heading out, my heart doing weird things as I step back into the cool, cloudy morning.

When I get home, my mom’s just coming in the door, looking… ecstatic? I drop my bag by the door, kicking off my sneakers. “Hey, Mom. What’s going on?”

She practically beams at me, dropping her purse on the counter. “Guess who just got promoted?”

“Wait, seriously?” I feel my face break into a grin. “Mom, that’s amazing!”

She nods, her eyes bright. “Yep. Fewer patients, more time off, and a nice bump in pay too. It’s like everything’s finally falling into place.”

I laugh, wrapping her in a hug. “You deserve this. Oh my god. This is great, mom! Congrats.”

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