Page 89 of Perfect
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Ben and I go to lunch at a brewery after the movie, which was the plan I’d made with the group, but it’s a little awkward with just the two of us. Ben’s nice, but he’s boring, and we don’t have much in common. He seems eager to talk to me, so I mostly ask him about himself and act interested, which he seems to buy.
I don’t think about how it looks that we’re having lunch together until I see Theo sitting at the bar, watching us. His face is locked in a tight, cold smile when he catches my eye, and I can tell that he’s furious.
Why is he even here?
Right.
Stalker.
I’m looking over Ben’s shoulder at Theo when I realize Ben is still talking to me.
“...a ride?” I glance back at Ben, trying to figure out what he just asked me.
“Huh? Oh, no, I, um, I have one today. I should get going, actually. Thanks for coming to the movie,” I say, grabbing my purse and standing up quickly. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Theo stand up, throwing cash on the bar.
“Yeah, it was fun,” Ben says enthusiastically. “We should do this again sometime.”
“Sure, okay,” I say, tracking Theo’s slow approach.
“Awesome. I’ll see you Tuesday?” Ben goes to give me a hug, and I let him, barely returning it as I watch Theo’s face flash in anger. He tries to school it back into a neutral expression but fails miserably.
“Uh-huh, see you then,” I say, not looking at Ben or Theo as I hurry towards the exit and start walking away from the brewery, trying not to panic.
Danny was a jealous prick, but as long as I didn’t look other men in the eye when I spoke to them and didn’t seem too interested, he usually didn’t freak out. I havenoidea what Theo’s going to be like, but since his ex cheated on him, I assume he’s going to be a fucking nightmare.
He probably won’t hit me, at least.
Theo grips my arm halfway down the pier, and I look up at him, opening my mouth to explain. He shakes his head tightly and starts guiding me back to his car, and I spend the walk figuring out how to get him to calm down.
He’s quiet when we get in the car, but the air around him is crackling with anger.
“Theo, it’s not wha-”
“Don’t,” he snaps at me.
“Theo, I need you to listen to me,” I say sweetly, resting my hand on his forearm, which is so tense it’s shaking slightly. “Everyone else canceled at the last minute, but Ben showed up before I could leave.” I pull up the texts and hand him my phone, and I see his eyes flick down and read the texts when we hit a red light. “Ben wanted to get food afterward because that was the plan the group made originally, and I was really hungry.” Theo’s jaw tenses and I start to get angry, but I keep my voice even. “You said you weren’t going to keep me from having friends,right?” Theo drags in a long, deep breath and exhales it slowly, shoving my phone back in my hands.
“I’m not keeping you from havingfriends,” he grits out, “but I’m not fucking stupid. That was adate.” I can’t help rolling my eyes and groaning.
“I wasn’t on adate, Theo. I’m not stupid, either – you’d probably kill me.” He shoots me an angry, insulted look, and I gesture at his rigid posture and white knuckles. “Look at how you’re acting right now! You’re being a jealous fucking maniac over me having lunch with a friend.” He turns up his driveway and parks the car, looking out towards the house, forcing himself to take deep breaths.
“That wasn’tlunch,” he says, his voice menacing. I groan in aggravation, my patience completely gone as I wrench the car door open.
“You’re so fuckingparanoid,” I snap, slamming the door and hurrying up the porch. Theo gets out of the car, following me up to the porch with slow, deliberate movements. Everything about him still seems strung tight and furious, and his jaw is clenched hard as he leans down, crowding me back into the door and looming over me.
“You can’t be this fucking naive, Alexandria,” he says through gritted teeth. “Hethought that was a date.” My temper flares, but he’s not listening to me at all, so I need to try a different tactic.
“Baby, you’re being crazy,” I coo sweetly, and his eyes widen as his head tilts to the side slightly. I put my hands on his chest and lean up against him, and he slowly straightens up.
Therewe go.
I wrap my arms around his waist and look up at him with wide eyes, resting my chin on his sternum and rubbing his back, feeling some of the tension ease out of him.
“Theo, I get that you’re jealous, but you need to listen to me. Ben’s just a friend, and not even one I like that much. I wouldneverdate him, so calm down, okay?” Theo’s rigid body relaxes a little more, and I take the keys from his hand, opening the front door and pulling him inside. “For the record, he’snotmy type,” I say quietly.
I don’t think I have a type, but Ben looks a little bit like Danny, and that’s definitelynotmy type.
