Page 37 of Resurrecting the Enemy
“I’m scared to like him, Eden,” I finally confessed. “I’m…I’m so out of my league here. What would I even do as Ramsey Reed Jr.’s girlfriend? I mean…talk about pressure.”
Her face softened as she reached over and gave my leg a reassuring squeeze. “Maybe he doesn’t want you to do anything, Lake,” she replied. “Maybe he just wants you to be his girlfriend.”
My eyes widened. “Eden, I don’t own diamonds,” I pointed out. “I don’t carry designer purses, or wear runway heels. For Pete’s sake, we’re seniors in high school and still ride the school bus because we can’t afford cars. Talk about dating beneath your station.”
“Stop that,” she chided. “If Ramsey was looking for a girlfriend who wore diamonds and tiaras, he would have picked someone from Windsor.” She reached out to squeeze my leg again. “But he didn’t. He chose you, Lake.” Eden let out a soft sigh. “For whatever reason, Reed picked you.”
“And that’s the problem,” I replied softly. “I don’t know what that reason is, and…this could be one big joke, for all I know.”
“Lake, that scene tonight was not a joke,” she replied. “Reed looked unhinged.” She shook her head. “You can’t fabricate that kind of anger.”
“I’m struggling with it not making sense,” I admitted. “It doesn’t make sense that Ramsey would be interested in me. It just doesn’t.”
She didn’t comment for a long moment before finally asking, “What are you going to do?”
“I honestly don’t know.” And I didn’t.
I had no idea what to do next. Tonight felt like a breakup, but how ridiculous did that sound? We weren’t even together. I’ve only had three encounters with the guy, and all three of them have been disasters. And he’s threatened me all three times. What kind of masochist did that make me? To be attracted to a guy who’s done nothing but run roughshod over me was insane.
But I couldn’t ignore how torn up I’d felt when he had mentioned Erica. The first time he had mentioned her, my heart had skipped at the seemingly show of loyalty. But the second time he had mentioned her, not so much.
And what was even crazier was that I had felt a jealousy I hadn’t even felt with Curt. Curt’s cheating had hurt my feelings, but not as much as it had hurt my pride. I had been humiliated more than I’d been heartbroken. But with Ramsey, it hadn’t been my pride that had suffered at his cruel remark. It had been my feelings that had taken the punch, and that terrified me. I didn’t want to like Ramsey.
But I did.
I did, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
I grabbed another tissue and blew my nose. I was crying over a guy who…hell, I had no idea what this was, but I was crying over it. Overhim.
“Maybe he’ll…maybe he’s mad enough to leave me alone now,” I suggested hopefully. Though a part of me balk at this madness ending and never seeing Ramsey again, I still had a functioning brain, and it was telling me this was all for the best. We weren’t equipped to date a guy like Ramsey. Hell, even his friends gave off an aura of power and strength. They had taken command of Tina, Kira, and even Eden like they knew they could.
They took.
That’s what they did. They took, and you were lucky if that’s all they did.
“Lake…” Eden let out a soft sigh. “…I…I don’t think Reed’s done with you. I don’t think this is it.”
Suddenly, I didn’t want to talk about Ramsey anymore. I didn’t want to wallow in feelings I couldn’t dissect. I didn’t want to worry about someone who no one could control, least of all me.
I wiped my face, and took a deep breath, and did the only thing I could do right now.
I deflected.
“So, you wanna explain that comment Dash made about you guys hooking up?”
Eden choked out a laugh. “What a crazy night, huh?”
I arched a brow. “That’s not an answer.” She let out a happy laugh, and I was so grateful it was a happy one and not a regretful one. “Do you like him?”
“I don’t even know the guy, Lake,” she snorted. “I liked being with him. And the guy sure knows what to do with his lips and hands, but he could have been any guy tonight.” She shrugged a shoulder. “I was feeling frisky, and he was there.”
I wasn’t buying it.
While Eden was your classic social butterfly, and she liked to date casually, I knew she didn’t get busy with guys willy-nilly. Eden was a making out kind of girl. She didn’t heavy pet unless she’s been dating the guy a while. So, if Dash Marlow had his hands in places reserved for the fifth date, something more was going on here.
“So, you letting him get as far as he got was just…you being horny?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t entirely the truth.
Eden grinned. “Well, you saw him kiss me, right?” I nodded. “Well, after Reed dragged you behind the shed, Dash had secluded us behind one of the oak trees in Keri’s backyard, and it was dark enough to get reckless.”
