Chapter 7
Karter slipped her feet into her shoes and checked herself in the mirror.
Her mother had called her earlier that morning and asked if she wanted to see a movie together that evening, since her father would be working late.
Karter had agreed for two reasons. One: because she always enjoyed spending time with her mom.
She was honestly her best friend. Two: because she figured she could dress up a little and maybe catch the attention of someone.
She needed something to take her mind off Creed.
The tension between them had been thick the past week at work, and she was honestly at her wit’s end.
He was in her space often, or he would ghost his fingers over her skin.
Each time he’d done it, he would pretend that the touch had been innocent, or worse, that he hadn’t done anything.
Karter was honestly tired of this game he was playing with her.
He’d always liked to pick on her, but this was taking it too far.
It was getting to the point where she felt he was just being blatantly mean to her, and she didn’t know how to deal with that.
He’d never acted that way toward her before, teasing her mercilessly.
It hurt her feelings a bit to have him do it now.
She didn’t know how to deal with her feelings around it. There was an ache that she couldn’t get rid of, but it wasn’t physical. She felt betrayed for some reason and had a hard time understanding why that was.
Deciding to push Creed from her mind and enjoy her time out with her mother, Karter grabbed her purse from her dresser and entered her living room. It was five minutes to seven, and her mom was a stickler for being on time.
Taking her phone out, she was scrolling through it when she got a text from her mom, just as there was a knock at her door.
You’ll thank me later, the message read, and she furrowed her brow at it.
Getting up to answer the door, she figured she would ask her about it.
However, as she opened the door, she understood why her mother had texted her.
Though she was sure, she would not be thanking her.
“Kaere,” Creed greeted, addressing her by the nickname he preferred to call her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, you told me a couple of weeks ago that me taking you out didn’t count as a date. I’m here to prove you wrong.”
Karter stared at him for a moment, letting his words sink in.
She recalled saying that to him the day Tim asked her out.
Several other things were running through her mind as well.
She’d already gotten dressed, and going out alone had never appealed to her.
However, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go out with him.
Her mind kept reminding her of how he’d been messing with her.
“I’m not taking no for an answer, Karter.”
That got her attention. Just as she hardly ever called him Ravage, he never really called her by her first name. The silent debate she had with herself lasted only a few seconds before she nodded.
Closing the door behind her as she exited her apartment, she ensured it was locked before walking past Creed, who gestured for her to lead the way.
Once they were at his truck, he opened the door for her, and Karter got in.
She exhaled loudly after he’d closed the door, giving herself a mental pep talk.
Once he was in the vehicle, silence hung between them. She didn’t know what to say to him, and Karter wasn’t a fan of that fact. She had never felt so out of place with Creed.
She knew she might have been blowing the situation out of proportion, but this was foreign. In the time that they’d known each other, there had never been an incident that made her question him. Question the way he treated her.
While she knew most people would say she should just accept his touches and his flirting. Karter couldn’t bring herself to do so. She’d never seen Creed flirt. Therefore, she couldn’t be sure if that was genuinely what he was doing.
The only thing she knew for sure was that she felt what he was doing was cruel.
He was observant, so there was no way he could have missed how the kiss they’d shared made her feel.
She knew he hadn’t missed how the tiny hairs on her arms would stand up when he ghosted his fingers over them.
The way her body shivered when he placed his hand on her back.
No, he had said nothing; he just continued to do it. He was messing with her in the worst way possible and didn’t seem to care that he was taking it too far.
Which brought her to the question: why had she even gotten into the truck with him? Because apparently, she was a masochist. It was the only reason she could think of.
It was fifteen minutes later when they were pulling into the parking lot of Lehma’s.
She looked up at the building. Exhaling silently, Karter cursed in her head.
She was supposed to see a movie with her mom.
She hadn’t expected him to bring her to a restaurant for what she assumed would be an awkward dinner.
Creed got out of the truck and came around to open her door. He held his hand out to her, and Karter paused for a second before taking it and allowing him to help her out of the truck. She pulled her hand from his, and he placed it on her back, steering her toward the entrance.
When they were seated at the table, she picked up her menu and looked it over.
However, she didn’t need to. This was one of her favorite places, and she ordered the same thing each time she came.
She could feel Creed’s eyes on her. Eventually, she would have to put her menu down, look at him, and talk to him.
Karter knew he wouldn’t let her ignore him either.
He didn’t let her get away with it for long, as she expected.
“Do you plan on just not talking to me, Kaere?” Creed questioned.
“I was just trying to decide what I wanted,” she answered.
He caught and held her eyes. “I’ll allow that one,” he stated before reaching across and taking the menu from her hand. “But I’m sure you’ve decided by now.”
Karter watched as he set the menu aside, his eyes never leaving hers. It caused her to swallow slowly. She had always known his stare was intense. There were a few times she’d gotten caught up in it. Now, however, she felt as if his eyes were suffocating her.
She averted her gaze, deciding instead to look around the restaurant. It was a conscious effort not to turn her attention back to him, and she could feel those eyes on her.
“You’ve been avoiding me. Why?” he asked.
Karter knew that she should have expected him to ask her. She was hoping, for once, he would surprise her and do the opposite of what he usually did. That had not been the case.
For a moment, she was saved from having to answer him as their server came over to take their drink order. Since they both knew what they wanted, they also put in their food orders. When he left the table, she returned to looking around the restaurant.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Creed spoke.
Damn it. Karter had hoped she could go back to surveying the restaurant and pretend he hadn’t asked her anything.
Taking a deep breath, she brought her attention back to him. “You’ve been messing with me, and I’d rather not be picked on.”
Creed raised a brow at her. “Messing with you?”
She narrowed her eyes at him for his inquisitive tone. He questioned her as if he didn’t know what she meant.
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t.”
Karter rolled her eyes internally. “It’s fine. I’m over it.”
“That’s two.” She heard him say. “Good to see that you’re over it.”
She nodded her head slowly. Yep, this was going to be a long dinner.
Ravage glanced over at Karter as she stared out of the window.
They’d just left the restaurant a few minutes ago.
He’d gotten her to converse with him after she accused him of messing with her, but she was still standoffish, and he was sure it was because she didn’t know how to take the way he’d been treating her.
Granted, to him, he wasn’t treating her any differently. Maybe he was touching her more, but it wasn’t different from how he usually would. He knew that some part of her was just being stubborn. Refusing to admit to herself what was happening.
In no way did Ravage think he was being too subtle about it.
He firmly believed that actions spoke louder than words and was trying to show her what she meant to him and how he felt about her.
When she had told him he was cruel in the supply room for kissing her, the only thing he could think of after that was how to get her to see that he had not been trying to be.
His intention was not to just keep her from going out with Tim.
Honestly, he didn’t know how much more obvious he could be.
He had already spoken the words that day in the storage room.
He’d been showing her over the past week, and it didn’t seem she was getting it.
Ravage knew that Karter’s stubbornness was more than likely one reason she had been keeping her distance.
She didn’t want to see what was right in front of her.
They were headed to their next destination when he saw her looking around out of the window through his periphery. He knew why she was doing it. He was more than sure after the dinner they’d just had; she expected him to take her home.
“This isn’t the way to my apartment.”
“I know that, Kaere. I want to take you somewhere else.”
Ravage listened to her sigh before she responded, “I’m tired, Creed.”
“Three,” he stated before making the turn he needed.
“What?” she inquired, but he didn’t bother to answer her as they approached their destination.
Pulling his truck into a spot, he exited and rounded the vehicle. Opening Karter’s door for her, he held his hand out. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in the seat.
“Seriously, just take me home.”