Page 148 of Jake Forever
Chapter 52
I stood, dumb-struck, as she pulled back her hand and gave a little gasp. "Oh, my God. I'm so sorry."
And the way it looked, she meant it.
Well, that just sucked. I wanted to slap her back. But could I?
I mean, she'd just apologized for it. It seemed terribly unsporting to slap someone who'd just said they were sorry.
Damn it.
I could still feel it, the heat of her hand, burning across my cheek. My fingers twitched with pent-up frustration and the urge to strike back.
Maybe I could follow her lead, do the quick one-two slap-apology combo. Then, she'd be inmyshoes. See how she felt then.
Take that, Nipple Girl.
In front of me, her breathing was ragged, and her eyes were glistening.
Looking at her, my shoulders sagged.
Oh, crap.
The way it looked, she was ready to cry.
Well that made two of us. I mean, it's not like my day had been so terrific either. And who invited her here, anyway?
No one. That's who.
In front of me, she was making an obvious effort to pull herself together. She swiped at her eyes, rubbing away unshed tears.
Or maybe, that was all just part of the show.
I gave her a hard look. "Whoareyou, anyway?" Before she could answer, I held up a hand. "Wait. Better yet. Who sent you?"
"No one." She gave me a shaky smile. "But Iama friend of Jake's P.R. director."
Huh?
Jake didn'thavea P.R. director. Did he?
"Who do you mean?" I asked. But even as I said it, I knew the answer. I gritted my teeth and said it out loud. "Bianca."
The girl in front of me nodded. "You know her?"
"Oh, do I ever."
Her brow wrinkled. "Is that a problem?"
I had no idea what to say. Yes, it was a huge problem for too many reasons to count. "So Bianca put you up to that?"
"To what? Hitting you?" She winced. "No. Sorry. That was all me." She squinted toward my cheek and asked, "Is your face okay?"
"Forget that," I told her. "I meant that scene at the convention center. Was that Bianca's doing?"
She hesitated. "Well, notallof it. I mean, I like to think I put my own touches on it, you know?"
Touches? If she meant touching Jake's crotch with her face, she'd certainly accomplished that.
