Page 118 of One Bad Idea

As I watched, he circled the front of his car and made a beeline for the passenger's side door. He yanked it wide open, dove headfirst into the vehicle, and then scrambled into the driver's seat.

A split second later, the engine roared to life, and he was gone, leaving a patch of burned rubber in his wake.

He didn't even stop to close the passenger's side door.

The whole time, Jaden hadn't moved an inch. I looked to his feet, thinking it was a miracle that he hadn't been run over – or at least lost a toe or two, thanks to Derek's panicked driving.

Nervously, I glanced around. If anything, the porches weremorecrowded now. I gave a little wave to no one in particular and summoned up a shaky smile. "It's alright!" I called. "We're just visiting, that's all."

Visiting?

What was I saying?

Slowly, Jaden turned his head in my direction. It suddenly struck me that during this whole process, I hadn't heard him say a single word. But Derek certainly had, judging from the speed of his departure.

I asked, "What did you tell him, anyway?"

Jaden gave me a hard look. "That's not the question."

I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "Then what is?"

"The question is, what am I gonna tellyou?"

Chapter 44

Cassidy asked, "So, what did he say?"

"Nothing useful," I said. "Basically, he chewed me out for showing the guy where I lived."

"But wait," she said, "how did Jaden know?"

I sank deeper onto the sofa. "He saw."

"He saw what?"

"Me showing the guy my license."

She gave a confused shake of her head. "And he didn't say anything about it at the club?"

"No." I was scowling now. "Can you believe it?"

It was nearly two in the morning, and Cassidy had just walked in from her waitressing shift, only to be accosted by me and my tale of woe.

And yet, I hadn't told her thewholestory, mostly because I didn't want her to feel bad.

Oh sure, she knew that Jaden and I didn't always get along. And she knew that work could be a little rocky. But she had no idea that I was some sort of social pariah – or that the only reason I'd hit the club alone was in hopes of meeting people who didn't treat me like some sort of disease.

Pathetic or not, I was keeping those details private for a reason. I realized all too well that Cassidy had given up that job –myjob – in order to do me a favor.

Now, I could only imagine how conflicted she'd feel if she knew what a mixed blessing it had all turned out to be.

Plus, everything was so obscenely complicated, and she had enough troubles of her own, including a psychotic mother and an equally psychotic aunt. The last thing she needed now was to worry aboutme.

I was fine.

I just needed to figure out the Jaden thing, that's all.

The first step? Getting him out of my system. Lately, I'd been thinking about him way too much, usually at the most inappropriate places, like at my desk or even worse, athisdesk.