Page 30 of Vendetta
I followed him back to the other end of the diner, focusing on the lighter streaks of chestnut in his dark hair.
As Nic glided towards the door, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets, he surveyed the diner again. ‘This place is so retro.’
‘It’s an acquired taste.’
‘Like my mother,’ he surmised with a soft chuckle. ‘In fact, sometimes I think I’m still acquiring.’
‘I feel that way about certain people too.’ I smiled, thinking of Jack and deliberatelynotthinking of his warning. He couldbe difficult and unpredictable, but once he was in your life, he was there for good, like a mole that makes up part of who you are.
‘But I bet no one feels that way about you, Sophie.’
Oh, only about a thousand people in Cedar Hill.‘You’d be surprised.’
‘Would I?’ Nic turned back to me, hovering across the threshold.
‘We should go,’ I murmured, forcing myself to focus on all the questionable things about this boy, and not the way he was making me lose my breath just by looking at me.
If Nic was disappointed, he didn’t show it. Instead, he unzipped his hoodie.
‘Here,’ he said, holding it out to me. ‘We’ll have to run to the car.’ He kept his arm outstretched, leaving him in just a black T-shirt and dark jeans. His jaw tightened, and I felt as if he were daring me to refuse the gesture. ‘Please.’
‘Well, if you insist.’
I took the sweatshirt and shrugged it on. It was at least four sizes too big. When I zipped it up and shook out the sleeves so that they fell over my hands, the severity in Nic’s expression faded. I fought the urge to twirl around so that the hoodie would fan out like a cape.Don’t be weird.
Nic was smirking at me.
‘What?’ I placed my hands – which were no longer visible – on my waist. ‘Have you never seen a drowned rat wearing an oversized hoodie before?’
‘None like you,’ he laughed.
‘Well, you need to get out more.’
‘Clearly.’
I shut off the lights, punched in the alarm code and locked up behind us, following him out into the torrential downpour.
No wonder I hadn’t seen Nic’s SUV earlier – it was parked all the way across the lot, where even the streetlights didn’t shine. We sprinted towards it, wobbling under the force of wind that threw buckets of rain across our faces. When we reached the car, I tumbled in, pushing against the storm to shut the door. I fell back against the cool leather seat, wrapping my arms around me while Nic started the engine. Without the added warmth of his hoodie, his teeth were chattering.
I spent the car ride directing him to my house and running my fingers through my hair so it wouldn’t frizz out too much in the humidity. I was just melting into the easy conversation between us, and the welcome feeling of dryness, when he pulled up outside my house.
‘Thanks for the ride.’ I tried not to sound too crestfallen that our time together had ended. I pushed the car door open and it flung outwards under the force of the wind.
‘Sophie.’ Nic tilted towards me and gripped my leg, holding the lower half of my body in the warmth of the car. ‘Wait.’
My heart flipped, and I worried he could hear how loudly it was suddenly beating. I tried not to breathe too quickly, or to stare at his hand on my knee. I looked at him and found him studying my arms, my waist, my –hishoodie.
‘Oh.’ I shook my hair out, scolding myself. ‘Your hoodie.’
I began to unzip it.
‘No, it’s not that,’ he replied quickly, keeping his hand on my knee. ‘You can give it back to me some other time.’
I dropped my hands into my lap and waited, my breathbound up in the base of my throat. I could see he was steeling himself for something else. My brain began to flash with a thousand possibilities and suddenly my heart was ricocheting off my ribcage like it was trying to punch through it.
He inhaled sharply, his expression suddenly uncertain. ‘The switchblade,’ he said quietly. ‘Can I have it back?’
My face fell, and something inside me – it felt a lot like hope – shrivelled up and died. I reached into my bag and pulled out the knife, dropping it into his outstretched hand in one hurried movement. ‘Of course. I forgot.’
