Fuck. I just wanted to take her home and forget this day had ever happened.
“Let’s go home,” I said into her ear.
She yanked herself from my grasp and crossed her arms.
“Great show, man!” one person said, clapping me on the back as he walked by.
I nodded at him, but I kept my focus on Ari. She hadn’t said shit yet.
A series of interruptions kept us from speaking.
“That was amazing,” one groupie said.
“Oh my God, you guys should sing it like that all the time.”
“That’s the best I’ve ever heard it.”
I ground my teeth and tried to block it out. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
She continued to glare at me as if I were the only fucking person in the room who had done something wrong. Why was she up on her fucking high horse when she was the one who had pushed me away this morning? She had things to account for, too.
I roughly grabbed her by the arm and hauled her toward the entrance. She gasped and tried to pull away, but I held on to her tight. If she wasn’t going to speak up, then she’d have to deal with this.
As soon as we stepped out of The Ivy League, Ari wrenched her arm free from me and walked around to the side of the building. I pursued her.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I demanded.
She turned around, crossed her arms, and stared at me. She just fucking stared at me. I could see she was seething. It was all bubbling up under the surface.
“The cold shoulder? You’re not going to fucking say anything?”
Ari turned her head to the side, looking out toward the parking lot.
“Okay, fine. You know what? Don’t say anything. I have enough to say for the both of us,” I spat at her. “I thought we were over all this shit. I’ve never been in a fucking relationship, but I can pretty much guarantee that it’s not supposed to work this way. You’re acting like a fucking crazy person, Princess. If I wanted to fuck around, I’d be banging every girl in the League tonight.”
“That’s good to know,” she ground out.
“But I’m not. I was fucking pissed tonight. I came here to get wasted. I wanted a distraction after you didn’t fucking pick up your goddamn phone.”
She turned her head back toward me. “Will you always need a distraction when one day doesn’t go as planned?”
“I’m not a fucking saint, Princess. You knew that when you signed up for this. I play in a fucking rock band. Girls throw themselves at me left and right, but not a single one of them compares to you.” I ran my hand along her jawline and up into her messy blonde hair. “What’s going on with us?”
She stepped away from my touch and closed her eyes. I wanted to lash out at her all over again, but the ice was cracking. Pain was written on her face. Her eyes were scrunched together. She swallowed a couple of times as if she was trying to keep from…crying.
No, she couldn’t cry.
“Ari,” I groaned.
I pulled her into my arms. She rested her head against my chest and gripped my shirt in her hands.
“That song, Grant? My song?”
“I know. It was impulsive.”
She pushed away from me again. “You’re always impulsive.”
“Killian called out ContraBand, and she said her favorite song was ‘Life Raft.’ Everyone went crazy, Ari. You should have heard them.”
Her lips pressed together in a thin line.
“Everyone pushed me toward the stage and chanted for us to sing. What the fuck was I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
When she didn’t say anything else, I kept talking, “Are you going to tell me why you ran out on me this morning?”
She shook her head.
“Fuck, Ari. Just tell me.”
“No. I’m not ready to talk about it,” she said. Her voice wavered, but she stared me straight in the eyes.
“Fine. Fucking fine. Take your time.” I was itching for a cigarette right now like nothing else. “Maybe you should go.”
Her eyes hardened but not before I saw a spark of hurt in her eyes. “Maybe I should.”
“Find me when you’re ready to talk about it.” I turned and walked back toward the entrance to the League.
“Grant, wait.”
“What?” I snapped. “What do you want me to say? Something is bothering you, and the most straightforward, outspoken, and mouthy person I know in the entire world won’t tell me what it is. So, it feels a bit more like my princess is walking out on me now.”
“No. I’m not…I’m not walking out. I just…I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
Scared? Aribel Graham was scared? Now, I’d heard everything.
She closed her mouth. Her hands were shaking at her sides. Tremors traveled up her arms and through her whole body.
“Jesus, Ari, what is it?”
“I kissed someone else,” she blurted out.
“You did what?” In shock, I stumbled backward a step. “You fucking cheated on me? What the fuck? Of all the people I’ve ever known…I never.”
“No. No, Grant. It was while we were broken up. It was an accident. A total mistake.”
“You’re goddamn right it was a mistake. Biggest mistake you’ve ever made in your life, Princess,” I snapped. “This was someone other than Donovan? Or was Donovan actually a real thing, and you were covering it up when we got back together?”
Ari closed her eyes. “This is why I was scared. I knew you’d react this way.”
“How else am I supposed to react?” I yelled at her.
“It meant nothing. My parents were trying to set me up with Henry after New Year’s when I thought—”
“When you thought I’d done what you did.”
“No! I thought you’d slept with a groupie. I would never have…” She ground her teeth and sagged. “I’m sorry. I went out with my brother, and the guy showed up. We shared a bottle of champagne, and he kissed me. He tried to convince me to go back to his place, but I told him no, and I left.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you expect me to do with this, Ari. Your parents were setting you up with other guys over break. Do they even know we’re dating?”
She bit her lip and cast her eyes away from me.
“Fuck, they don’t know,” I said, momentarily stunned. “What? Are you fucking ashamed of me?”