Chapter Nine
Not You Again
H ailey
Damien and I were having a lot of fun before Mr. Sunshine stomped in here and crashed the party.
Taking a sip of my drink, I glare at him. Alcohol has always made me an easier person to deal with, but I can’t say Damien cared either way. After Adam called and told me not to come in for my shift, I may have thrown a coffee cup at the wall.
I hate that Derick is ruling my life once more, even if I don’t think that was his intention this time. Damien has been a rock, though. He is surprisingly mature for his age and listened as I explained everything while he made me some more coffee before deciding we needed to do some serious day drinking.
We bought the only collapsible pool in Franklinton and some booze. He introduced me to their mother, and I even got an invite to Sunday lunch. All in all, I was having a spectacular day.
Until now. This man has me on an emotional roller coaster. My emotions go from wanting to strangle him to wanting to ride him like a damn fair pony.
“What do you want?” I ask, rather rudely. Even though Damien just told me to play nice.
“What are you doing, Hailey?”
I fucking hate when people answer a question with a question. Grabbing the pitcher, I turn on my heel and walk back into the house.
“You know he just finished college, right?”
“You can’t really be that stupid,” I reply with a glare.
He better not be accusing me of trying to seduce his little brother. I might be driven to violence if those words leave his kissable lips.
“Hailey.” He sighs. “I don’t know what to think. You’re clearly not in a good place after seeing Derick.”
Finishing off my margarita, I slam the glass on the counter.
“I was fine. I even intended to go to work at the job I have only had for a day. But you interfered. And Damien, your little brother,” I spit the last words at him. “He was trying to distract me from driving down to House of Ink and shoving my foot up your ass.”
“What?”
Angry laughter slips from my lips. “Did you think Adam would be okay with me working tonight and possibly bringing my drama to his bar? You may actually be as stupid as I think.”
“I am trying to protect you! We all are.”
“I didn’t ask for and I don’t need your protection. I’m not your woman!”
We are yelling at each other, both of our chests heaving with anger. I don’t know when it happened, but we have moved around the kitchen and are standing face to face, glaring at each other.
“You can’t handle being my woman,” he says with a glare. “You haven’t had a real man in your whole life.”
“You couldn’t handle me, Laine,” I bite back, putting my hands on my hips.
“Wanna bet?”