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“What? That’s a weird thing to bring up on a date, dude.”
“Oh.” He shrugs. “Heard you couldn’t handle the pressure. Total meltdown.”
Time stops. Dumpling frozen halfway to my mouth. Katy looks like she’d rather be anywhere else.
I reach into my bra and pull out one of Callie’s emergency singles. Smooth it out on the table.
“Check, please,” I say sweetly.
Nathan blinks. “What?”
“Check. Please.”
My fortune cookie says, “New beginnings await.” I crumple it. Some new beginnings aren’t worth the calories—or the humiliation.
Outside,the air’s cooler. Bars spill music into the street, crowds of students weaving past. Nathan takes my hand as we walk to his car. His palm is warm but unfamiliar—too smooth, too confident.
He stops at the passenger door but doesn’t open it. Instead, he corners me against the car. Cold metal seeps through my dress; my ass is probably imprinted on his fender. “I had a good time tonight.”
Has he been smoking something?
His lips crash into mine before I can reply. The kiss is practiced but aggressive, his hand in my hair, gripping tight. He tastes like soy sauce and confidence, with a hint of that beer he ordered to impress Katy with his pronunciation. I keep my eyes open, watching the streetlights blur, thinking about how Jaxon always started soft, like a question.
“Relax,” he breathes against my lips. “Let me make you feel good.”
His hand slides up my thigh. I push it away, stomach churning. “Nathan?—”
“You can’t wear a dress like this and not expect me to want you.” There’s a sharpness in his tone now, like the winter wind cutting down the street.
I turn away, watching a group of girls totter past in heels, laughing. One catches my eye, her smile fading when she sees my face. “I want to go back to my dorm.”
“Hey, I?—”
“Now. Please.”
A bus rumbles past, drowning out his next excuse. We stand there, him annoyed, me fighting tears, streetlights blurring into gold smears. The neon sign from the Korean place throws red across everything, and I hate myself for agreeing to this date. What a disaster.
“Listen, fuck.” Nathan runs a hand through his hair, messing it up for real this time. “I’m sorry I kissed you.”
“It’s fine.” I wipe my lips with the back of my hand, smearing the last of my lipstick. “It’s not you, it’s me.”
“Mhm.” He glares at me, and I feel even worse. A siren wails nearby. “You know that’s what people say when they don’t want to piss you off.”
Anger bubbles up before I can stop it. “You’re right. It’s you.” I step back, heart pounding, hands shaking. “I don’t know why I... I don’t know what I’m doing. I love a guy who clearly doesn’t feel the same.”
God, stop talking.
Nathan blinks, red neon making his face look almost evil. “Wait. What?”
“Not you, genius.”
He smirks, a glimmer of understanding. “Oh, the baseball player? The one I saw you leave that party with?”
I nod, tears slipping down. “Yeah, him.”
He exhales hard, breath fogging in the cold. “If you didn’t want to kiss me, you should have said something. Before I wasted my night trying to impress someone still hung up on her ex.”
Impress me by being an ass? “I did want to kiss you, until... I didn’t.”