Chapter 6
Six
Before I explode from the onslaught of gossip, I excuse myself from the table. Ensuring the girls don’t follow, I tell them I’m leaving to speak with Mrs. Haverford about her upcoming local council re-election campaign.
I just need air before I can finish my evening with them.
As I make my way to the foyer, my ears prick at my name being called. My shoulders slump and I mutter a groan.
LJ catches up to me, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “Where are you going, sweetheart?”
Gosh, I hate it when he calls me sweetheart. It’s a Stepford Wife training name.
“I just need some air, LJ.” I lift his forearm from my shoulder. “Can I have a minute alone?”
“What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t escort you outside?”
“You really don’t have to,” I say as the doorman opens the front glass door.
LJ walks me out. “Don’t be silly. It’s my pleasure to be by your side.”
Sickening. Must he lay it on this thick? I swear, everything in my life is a rehearsed show. I bet conversations went down like this between my parents when they met in college.
“You seem down tonight,” LJ remarks. “Something’s wrong?”
I shrug it off. “Just feeling a little off.”
LJ stays close. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”
I step back. “It’s nothing, really.”
He gives me a skeptical look. “Ness?”
I sigh, turning away from the front entrance. “I just want people to think better of me.”
“How could anyone not see you as the best?”
“Ever since I left for Switzerland, rumors have circulated about me.”
LJ sniggers. “And after you got back. The girls talk a lot about my competition; your hunky tutor. Apparently, when you were abroad, you spent all your time with him.”
I flick my hair off my shoulder and keep my eyes downcast. “I’m well aware of what’s been said.”
“Should I be worried?”
I lift my eyes and my expression grows blank. “LJ, we’re not a couple.”
“There’s no guy at Ashworth Academy who’s closer to you than I am.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. I’m not dating anyone from school.”
“So there is someone outside of our circle?”
I sigh, shaking my head. “There’s no someone in my life.”
“Then why are you making things so difficult for us? High school would’ve been the perfect time to get all the dating out of the way. We’d be engaged during college and married by the time I’m a junior executive of plastics.”
A soft retch hitches in my throat. “It’s all so easy to figure out, isn’t it?”
LJ leans in close. “We’re lucky, Ness. Most people don’t come from such influential families with mutual benefits.”
“I don’t want to be a benefit,” I say in a feeble tone. “I want to be more than a commodity that helps someone step up the corporate ladder.”
LJ laughs. “Sweetheart, this is the real world. Why don’t you relax and join me in it?”
An indignant huff rushes out of me. With a stamp of the foot, I spin on my heels and march away from him.
“Vanessa,” he whines, following me. “Come back here.”
He reaches for my arm, and I flail to get him off.
“Vanessa. Would you stop?”
“No!” I snap. “Let me go.”
“Not until you calm down.”
“Stop telling me how I should feel.”
“How would your mother feel about you acting this way?”
My chin drops and my mouth hangs open. Did he really just go there?
He releases my arm, and I wobble on my heels, fighting to stay upright. From behind, LJ’s hands cup my waist, keeping me balanced.
I swallow roughly, taking a step forward, but his hands don’t leave me.
“I’m fine,” I mutter. “You can let me go.”
His hands fall off my waist, leaving prickles under the material of my dress. I fight the urge to shudder.
“Let’s go back inside,” LJ says in a low voice, “before we make more of a scene out here.”
“Can you just give me a minute? I need some air.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I fold my arms, keeping my back to him. “LJ, please.”
“Fine. Don’t be too long.”
LJ’s footsteps back away, and I finally let out a breath of relief. As the swing of the front doors signals LJ’s exit, a new sound snatches my attention. A rev that makes my heart skip a beat.
My stomach twists as I turn toward the parking lot. I freeze when I see him. Dax Malone, straddling his humming motorcycle.
What the heck is he doing here? Is this an intimidation tactic? Does he want to berate me again?
Dax leans forward and rests his arms on the handlebars.
Is he seriously just staying here?
I tilt my head, waiting for him to ride away. But he doesn’t. He continues to sit there, taunting me.
I eye the doorman and notice his growing suspicion of Dax. The last thing I need is him confronting Dax, who then tells him he’s on the property grounds because of me.
That’s it. He has to go.
I click my heels down the path towards the running motorcycle.
“Hi there,” he says with a cheesy grin.
“Umm. What are you doing here?” I ask, feeling shaky on my approach.
A teasing smirk tugs at his lips. “What? Don’t you like when people turn up to your place unannounced?”
“You’re here because I followed you home?”
His expression grows serious. “I want to know why you were there. There has to be an angle.”
I shiver under his intense gaze. “There was no ulterior motive. I just wanted to know you were safe.”
Dax rolls his eyes with a laugh. “What a load.”
A hurt gasp shoots out of me. “I was.”
“What is this?” Dax says, gesturing at the front facade of the club. “Is this how you rich kids pass the time? Find some charity case to snoop on until you get bored and look for the next?”
I place a trembling hand over my chest. “I didn’t call you a charity case. I just didn’t think you were well enough to ride your motorcycle. I wanted to make sure you didn’t have another accident.”
He tilts his head, looking me dead in the eyes. “And why would you care?”
“Because I saw you collapse at the hospital, and it scared me,” I reply. “I tried to hold you up when you were out cold.”
“No one else in that hospital cared about me,” he says in a low voice. “Why would you?”
I cross my arms and turn away from him. “Look, I just didn’t want someone seriously injured or worse on my conscience. It’s no big deal. Can we just drop it now?”
“Can you understand why it was so weird to have an Ashworth at the clubhouse?”
I turn to view him over my shoulder.
He gives a slight nod. “I know all about your family. If any of those guys knew who you were, you wouldn’t have made it out of there.”
I suck in a sharp breath. “Is that a threat?”
He shakes his head, and I turn my body toward him. “It’s a warning. I don’t want to see you back there ever again. It’s not safe for someone like you.”
“I saw your bruises. Is it even safe for you?”
Dax pushes off the handlebars and reaches for his helmet, which sits behind him. “Maybe you should get back inside. Your boyfriend looked super pissed you didn’t follow him in.”
I scoff. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Dax wriggles his eyebrows, intrigued. “Then who is he?”
“He’s none of your business.”
Dax laughs. “So he is your date?”
I click my tongue, looking up at the twinkling stars to calm my frustrations.
Dax taps the helmet sitting on his lap. “Oh. He’s someone you want to get away from?”
I look back at Dax, hoping it’s not written all over my face.
He snaps his fingers. “Okay, got you.” He lifts the helmet, offering it to me. “You want an out, then?”
“I thought you just said being around your place wasn’t safe?”
Dax sniggers. “I wouldn’t take you there. I’ll just get you away from here before Mr. Preppy comes strolling out, looking for you.”
I shift my weight between my feet and clutch the strap of my purse before it slips off my shoulder.
Dax hikes a leg over the motorcycle and moves to the rear. He lifts the lid of the small locker trunk anchored to the bike. “You can chuck your bag in here, if you want.”
I grip the strap of my purse tighter, feeling cemented to the footpath.
Dax digs into a pocket of his leather jacket. “Oh, before I forget. I found this on the clubhouse driveway.”
My mouth falls open as I stare at my bracelet in his hand.
His eyebrow raises. “Do you want it back?”
My hand trembles as I reach for it. “You didn’t steal it?”
Dax snorts. “Nice. No, you ripped your hand away from me so fast, I guess the clasp opened.” Dax tilts his head, looking at the slim chain in his hand. “I mean, I thought about keeping it. Looks like it’s worth a pretty penny, but I thought you might be missing it.”
I take the bracelet and clasp it around my wrist. “I was. I feel like I’m missing a limb when it’s gone.”
“Bit dramatic.”
“I just wear it every day, that’s all.”
Dax gestures at the motorcycle. “So you coming or what?”
I look back at the clubhouse, thinking about my friends and everyone else who expects me to go inside.
Dax smirks, waiting for my response. “Make a decision, Sassy.”
This is something I’d never expect to happen. Yet, here it is, playing out before me. If I say no, I walk back inside the club. I’ll listen to more gossip, order coffees, and then move on to the ice-creamery where the girls will text their crushes and I’ll feign interest.
If I say yes, I have absolutely no idea what will happen.
My thumb flicks against my bracelet, and I smile. I hold out my purse, letting Dax take it. I pick up the helmet and lift it over my head. “Does this just slide on?”
“Yeah,” Dax says, closing the locker trunk. “It has a strap underneath the chin.”
The helmet fits loosely around my head, and I fiddle with the strap until it tightens. Dax closes in and swivels the helmet by my ears.
He taps the sides, saying, “Just checking its snug.”
“I guess it’s a little loose,” I reply. “But it’s safer, right?”
Dax throws a leg over the motorcycle. “Sure.”
“Where’s your helmet?”
“You’re wearing it.”
“Oh. You’ll be driving without one?”
Dax chuckles, motioning to the space behind him. “Relax. This isn’t my first rodeo. Now, hop on.”
Ignoring my reservations, I lift the skirt of my dress and climb on behind Dax. I snuggle in close to him and hook my arms around his middle.