"Perhaps. I don't know who you are, so figuring out what type of woman would force a man like you to settle down and cherish her seems impossible."
"That's ‘cause it is." He shrugged and walked past me, leaving me standing there, feeling like shit for tearing him down. He wanted me and I wanted him, yet I wasn't just pushing, but stabbing him with every arrow I could find. Why? It seemed so out of character for me, and yet I wasn't ready to stop punishing him for being whatever he was.
It was unfair and I was being an ass.
"Alright, have fun." I smiled and reached out to pull Cindy into a hug. "Call if you need me."
"Be careful on the ride home. I'll call on my way to the airport tomorrow." She snuggled up to Finn and he turned toward her, lifting her face and leaning down to kiss her in the way I'd give anything for a man to kiss me.
I turned and half jogged to the front door, not realizing that Brian was following me until I walked out into the frigid night air.
"Hey. Can I catch a ride home? Sorry to bother you with it, but we drove a big van and I'd rather not witness an orgy tonight." He chuckled.
"Of course. I don't know the town well, but if you can give me directions, I'm happy to drop you off." I lifted my hand and hit the key button, waiting for the SUV to light up. "Over here."
We walked to the car in silence. It wasn't until I had the heat on and had pulled from the parking lot that Brian broke the silence. It was a good thing he did. I was close to crying over witnessing a guy I'd just met and my best friend from high school kissing. I was an idiot. It didn't make sense, but my emotions were all over the place.
"I'm glad we got a chance to dance tonight. It was fun." He tugged at his seatbelt as if uncomfortable.
I needed to save him from making the mistake of asking me out. I wasn't sure if he was headed that way, but I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Mine were already hurt enough.
"Yeah, it was fun. I rarely go dancing because my boyfriend in Los Angeles gets so overly protective, but my buddies from high school came into town, and as you can see...there's no telling them no." I laughed, and he let out a sigh of relief.
; "You have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah. Why?" I looked over at Brian and gave him the warmest smile I could muster, which wasn't saying much.
Having a boyfriend was a great lie. Maybe that way Brian didn’t feel terrible that I wasn’t going to sleep with him.
"Finn said you were the girl of his dreams. I was good with it until we got closer and I got a good look at you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I chuckled, unable to help myself.
"You're beautiful and would break his heart. I thought you would be like the other girl's he's dated, but you don't seem to be at all. You're the designated driver, for shit’s sake." He snorted.
"He doesn't date girls. He sleeps with them and leaves them." I turned as he pointed to the house at the end of the street and gave me a few directions.
"How do you know that? You just met him tonight." Brian turned to me as I stopped in front of his house.
"Because he's a man whore. My dad's one, too, and there are a million on campus with me." I shrugged. "Have a good night, Brian."
He got out of the SUV and paused. "He's just looking for love, Chloe. People do it in different ways. I do it through my success at work. You probably have a different thing or person you use to feel wanted. Finn uses the warmth of a woman. He's no different in what he's seeking, he just finds it in places that we don't."
I nodded and waited until he closed the door to shake my head in disbelief.
It didn't matter that I shouldn't care that he was taking Cindy home. It did. A lot.
Chapter 10
Finn
"You going with me to church this morning?" My father's loud voice pulled me from sleep and scared the hell out of me.
I jerked up in the bed and looked around, making sure I was at my house like I thought I was.
"Yeah. Stop letting yourself in the damn door," I grumbled and got out of the bed before tugging on my jeans and walking out into the living room. "I could have had a girl in my bed."