She slowly shook her head. “I’ll text you later.”
“Later doesn’t work for me.”
“Too bad.” Chelsea glanced over her shoulder and reversed again.
Liam stayed with her window.
She slammed her brakes. “What?Because I’d really like to wallow at home. All right? Is that what you need to hear?”
What the hell do I want to say?He hadn’t planned that far out. “I never use that cabinet.”
She stared blankly then said, “You don’t need to explain.”
“That’s not…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Not what I need to say.”
“Then what?”
“I… don’t know.”
Seeming exasperated, she exhaled. “It’s been a hard day. Just go upstairs, and I’ll text you later.”
The Jeep inched back, and his irritation multiplied. She couldn’t leave! “Dammit, Chelsea. We didn’t talk after we fucked.”
She slammed the brakes again. Her mouth gaped, but he didn’t care. They’d breezed through the no-condom conversation and didn’t hit the important stuff. “So we’re sure as hell going to talk about this now.”
She slapped the Jeep into drive, straightened, then she jumped out as though she might wring his neck. “Are you insane?”
“Yeah, maybe.” He stepped into her personal space.
“You can’t say that out here!”
“The hell I can’t.” Now that he had her close, he wasn’t sure where to begin. “You know what I’m sick of?”
She glared.
“Do you?” he prompted.
Her furling anger softened, and at least now she didn’t look a moment from strangling him. Finally, exhaustion coated her voice. “What?”
“Expectations.”
“What does that mean?”
“What I’m supposed to do. You’re supposed to think. How we’re supposed to act.” He paced and shook his head. “Expectations and assumptions. They’re all bullshit.”
She didn’t respond.
He held a breath then tried to find a place to start. “I’m glad you came over tonight.”
She fidgeted. “Sure.”
He’d needed her—even if he hadn’t known at first. “I’m glad you’restillhere.”
She shifted against the driver’s door as if suddenly needing more space. “But I need to go.”
“This you-me thing…” He took a step, erasing their small gap. “It’s hard to understand.”
“Hard to understand?” Sadness tugged at the corners of her eyes. “I don’t even know who I am.”