Page 44 of Through My Window
“No, I’m serious. You tell me you don’t want anything to do with me, but then you go and do nice things like this. What are you playing at, Ares?”
“I’m not playing games. I’m just being nice.”
“Why? Why are you being nice to me?”
“I don’t know.”
“You never know anything.”
“And you always want to know everything.” His blue eyes stare intensely at me as he approaches.
“I’m beginning to think you like to confuse me.”
Ares gives me that smirk that suits him so well. “You confuse yourself. I’ve always been clear with you.”
“Yes, very clear, Mr. Kindness.”
“What’s wrong with being kind?”
“That doesn’t help me forget you.”
Ares shrugs his shoulders. “That’s not my problem.”
A wave of rage runs through me. “And here comes the moody Ares.”
Ares furrows his brows. “What did you call me?”
“Moody. Your mood swings are too constant.”
“As creative as ever.” Sarcasm flows through his tone. “It’s not my fault that you like to give meaning to everything.”
“Everything’s always my fault, isn’t it?”
“God, why are you so dramatic?”
The rage continues to grow inside me. “If I’m such a bother to you, then why don’t you leave me alone?”
Ares raises his voice. “You called me! You looked for me!”
“Because I didn’t know another number!” A flash of what looks like disappointment crosses his face, but I’m too upset to care. “Do you think I would have called you if I’d had a choice?”
He clenches his fists at his sides, and, before he can say anything, I throw the phone box at him. He catches it in midair.
“Just take your stupid phone and leave me alone.”
Ares throws the box on the cabinet and takes long strides toward me. “You are so ungrateful! Your mother didn’t teach you any manners.”
I push his bare chest. “And you’re an idiot!”
Ares takes my arm. “You’re crazy!”
I slap his arm to free myself. “Unstable!” I turn my back and lunge at the doorknob, but he grabs my arm again, making me face him. “Let me go! Let me go!”
His soft lips press close to mine.
And there, in his playroom, Ares Hidalgo kisses me.
SIXTEEN
