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Yes. No. Of course. I shrugged. “Not really.”

He bit his lip, slowly nodding, his obvious irritation betraying his silence. He opened Lady’s door for me but didn’t wait around long enough to close it. And then he started the engine, wordlessly pulling away from Jaymes’ house. He remained quiet, driving, even though he had no idea where I lived.

So, it appeared he was giving me the silent treatment.Awesome.

I let the silence linger, watching him. I didn’t know what thoughts were running through his mind, but I saw the way he rapidly jumped from one to another, each one making him grow more and more irritated.

“Does it botheryou?” I finally felt the need to ask him.

He laughed under his breath, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel. It was a while before he finally answered—with only a half-assed shrug thrown my way.

O-kay.

How in the hell had we gone from two hours ago to now? From holding hands in the corner of a dark pub, and watching him perform for the first time ever, and him running straight to me and pulling me up and into his arms in his excitement…tothis?

I started quietly giving him directions even though he hadn’t asked for them. A right here, a left there, and so on and so on. My mood was shifting, too. Growing darker. Irritated.

Because, really? What the hell was his problem? I hadn’t done anything to deserve his cold shoulder. I let that thought simmer, growing angrier.

He must’ve caught on that we were heading towards his house, but he still didn’t say anything.

He didn’t say anything the entire way there. Not even when we pulled up to the curb out front. Only his eyes gave away his surprise, widening just a fraction.

My knee was bouncing, agitated. Did I just walk away without a word, or confront whatever…thiswas?

I went with the latter. “So, you’re not going to say anything to me? This is how our day ends?” I asked him.

He ran his hand through his bleached-blond hair, half of it falling back into his face, and sighed. “No,” he said quietly. “No. I’m sorry, Jess. I just…”

I felt all of my irritation melt away with his words. At the amount of sincerity and remorse I felt in them. “You just…?”

He shrugged, refusing to say whatever words were on the tip of his tongue.

The wave of frustration rolled its way back in. I bit back an irritated growl, blowing out an audible breath instead. “You just…maybe like me more than you’ll admit. And maybe, it does bother you. The way Jaymes is with me.”

He finally looked over at me, his green eyes pinning mine. “I’d say that’s pretty obvious.”

“But you won’t do anything about it?”

He leaned his head back on his headrest, closing his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He was still facing me, but I would’ve missed the way he barely shook his headnoif I hadn’t been watching him so intently.

I nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “Honestly, I feel like I’m missing something. Because Jaymes doesn’t give two shits about anyone but himself, so I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why someone like you would be so loyal to someone like him.”

He clenched his jaw. Once, twice. Before laughing. If you could even call it that. It was short, dark, unamused. “Jaymes is a prick,” he said, shrugging. “Doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of my only true friends. Or the fact that I owe him more than I can ever repay.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned this. I couldn’t imaginewhy, or for what, he’d ever owe him for. But I could see the way that, for whatever reason, it weighed on him.

“Will you ever tell me why?” I swallowed thickly.

He shook his head again, shutting me out.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to punch something. I knew it wasn’t justified, but it felt like I was constantly losing something that was never even mine to begin with.

Maybe the way I felt about him was a lost cause after all.

I opened the car door, stepping out. “Goodnight, Greyson.”

“Itshouldbother you,” he quickly said, quiet, his voice rough.