REBEL, a New Adult Romance Novel (The Rebel Series) (30 page)

I’m shaking my head in confusion and disgust.
 
“Guys are idiots,” I finally say.
 
“Seriously.
 
How do you survive without wandering out into traffic and killing yourselves?”

“You’ve been drinking.”
 
Rebel says, staring at me.

“Hell yeah, I’ve been drinking.
 
That’s what I do after I’ve had a shitty week at work.
 
I party it up and forget all the craptastic stuff that happened.
 
That’s what
normal
people do, Rebel.
 
They don’t skulk around and attack people as they’re getting out of their car.
 
If you have issues with your week, I suggest you either start with a beer or take your girlfriend out on a date and then wine, dine, and sexty-nine her or whatever. Beating up your brother is not the answer to whatever your problem is.”

“It’s sixty-nine, not sexty-nine.”

I throw my arms up.
 
“Whatever!”

“I don’t have a girlfriend, you know.”

His comment takes me off-guard a little, since I fully expected him to blast me back or remain silent as usual, but I’m not going to un-mad myself just because he throws me a stupid curveball.
 
I shrug all nonchalant and cool. “So.
 
As if I care.”

“I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea about anyone.”

I shrug again, harder this time. “Who cares if I do?
 
You’ve already made yourself painfully clear on that whole issue, so whatever.
 
Game over.
 
I’m tired.
 
Do you mind if I crash on your couch?”

“Yes, I do mind.”

My jaw drops open. The nerve of him.
 
Kicking me out when I’m ready to pee my pants. “Fine.
 
I’ll go to my apartment, then.”
 
I try to go around him to get into the driver’s seat, but his hand shoots out and grabs my wrist.
 
It stops me dead in my tracks.

“Don’t go,” he says quietly.

I look down at his hand and then up to his enigmatic expression.
 
I sigh heavily.
 
“Rebel, if I had a tire iron in my hand right now I’d klonk you over the head with it.
 
But since I don’t, could you just do me a solid and let go of my arm right now so I can get on with my shitty night?”

“I’d rather you stay here.”

“But you just said …”

“I said I minded if you crashed on my couch.”

I roll my eyes in frustration.
 
“Jesus Christ Superstar, did you do some drugs tonight while I was at the bar? Hippie flip? Trip balls? Puff the magic dragon? … God
damn.”
 
I throw my free hand up and let it fall and smack my side.
 
“Speak!
 
Tell me what the hell you’re trying to say!”

He’s completely cool when he answers.
 
“I want you to stay at my place but in my bed.
 
No more couches.”

I pull my arm from his grip.
 
“Argh! You are totally mind-fucking me right now, Rebel, and that is seriously not cool.” I straighten my shoulders. “Now … before I tell you all about yourself, I have to go pee.
 
After that, I have to figure out what I’m going to do, which I can assure you is
not
going to be led on and left naked once more by
you
, okay?
 
Goodbye, Rebel.”

I walk-run to the door, determined not to wet my pants or say something incredibly needy and weird.
 
I need space to figure this out and to try and get to the bottom of his psychosis.
 
And no matter what, I have to be strong.
 
I plan to gather all my forces and self-restraint in the potty.

I bring my cell phone with me so I can have a quick meeting with Quin.
 
She’ll know what to do.
 
I’ll listen to her, since my libido is already working overtime to convince me to take him up on his messed-up offer.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

I SIT DOWN AND HIT the auto dial.
 
Quin picks up on the third ring.

“Talk to me, sweet cheeks,” she says.
 
“Tell me all your secrets.”

“Quin, emergency meeting alert.”
 
I don’t have time to play games with her.
 
I need to get down to business before Rebel decides I’m hiding and decides to disappear on me.

“Ooo, I like emergency meetings.
 
Are we talking a life-or-death kind of thing or man troubles?”

“Both, because if I don’t figure this out, someone’s likely to get hurt, and it’s not going to be me.”

She scrabbles around, making me think she’s getting more comfortable on her bed or something. Music goes on in the background and confirms that she’s in her room.
 
“Go.
 
I’m ready.”

“Okay, so I go out for beers with Colin after work.”

She interrupts.
 
“And Colin is…?”

“Rebel’s brother.
 
The jailbird guy who lives in the apartment next to Rebel. Anyway, we have a couple beers and then some guy is staring at us, so we get into a fight with him…”

“Whaaaat?” She interrupts again.
 
“Are you crazy?
 
No wait … are you drunk?”

“Maybe. But that’s immaterial.”
 
I don’t feel drunk anymore.
 
Rebel’s offer seems to have sobered me up cold.

“I beg to differ, but continue.”

I let out a quick breath, centering myself and getting back to my memories.
 
They’re a little fuzzy at this point.
 
“Okay, so while Colin is whooping ass, and I’m his wingman whopping ass in a major way, I realize I know this guy who’s been staring at us.”

“Wait, were you whooping or whopping ass?
 
Because there’s a difference.”

“He was whooping, I was whopping.
 
There might have also been some evasive maneuvering going on.
 
I was pretty badass.”

“Who is he?
 
The guy you were whopping and whooping on, I mean,” Quin asks, her voice going low.
 
She’s totally intrigued.

“I don’t know.”

“You said you knew him.”

“Yeah, but … shut up.
 
Stop trying to confuse me.
 
I know that I know him, but I don’t know how or who he is.
 
Like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

“At school?”

“No.
 
He’s too old for that.”

“Too old … hmmm?
 
Professor, maybe?”

“No.
 
Not … smart enough looking.”

“Hmmmm … old guy, you’ve seen him recently … not at school … not academic-looking … is it the guy from the pawn shop or the laundry place?”

“No.
 
Never mind, that’s not important right now.”

“Oh.
 
Sorry.
 
Maybe I should hang up and drink about six beers and then call you back.
 
This conversation might be easier for me to follow that way.”

“Quin!
 
You are not helping me right now!”

“Why is your voice echoing all over the place?
 
Are you in the bathroom or do we just have a bad connection?”

“Yes, I’m in the bathroom.
 
I almost peed myself, so I had to take a potty break.
 
This is the only place I can get any privacy.”

“So, what happened next?
 
Did you get arrested or something?
 
Am I your one phone call?
 
Do you need me to get you a lawyer?”

I pause to bang the phone on the side of my head a few times.
 
The patience I need for this phone call is quickly dissipating.

“Hello?” Quin says in a louder voice.
 
“Did you hear me?
 
Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m still here,” I say calmly.
 
“I’m not in jail.
 
I’m at work.
 
We came here after the fight to avoid the cops that were coming, and Rebel came out and just attacked Colin.”
 
I quickly lose my cool as the rest of the story is revealed. “Then he told me he wants me to sleep in his bed!”

“Holy cannoli … do you have any idea how boring my life is compared to yours? While you were out being Lara Croft Tomb Raider, kicking ass and taking names, I was playing a Scrabble death match against my brother, and I lost.
 
I
lost
, Tea.
 
That was my night.
 
You got wasted, whopped ass in a bar fight
with
evasive maneuvers, and then had one hot beefcake duel another hot beefcake over the rights to your bod.
 
Life is so unfair.”

Resting my elbows on my knees and the phone against my head, I sigh out heavily.
 
“Quin, I need you to tell me what to do.”

She pauses before answering.
 
“Seriously?”

“Yes.
 
Seriously.
 
I’m lost.
 
I don’t know whether to run away as fast as I can or do the opposite.
 
I’ve had too many beers and it’s been too long since I’ve had sex, and let’s face it … I’ve never had it with a guy like Rebel.
 
It’s too tempting for me to think straight.
 
I should probably walk away, right?
 
Tell me to walk away.
 
If you tell me to do it, I swear I’ll do it.”

“Okay,” says Quin, using her serious tone, “let’s analyze…”

She’s interrupted by a banging at the bathroom door.

I panic.
 
I don’t have the advice I need yet, and I’m not ready to face reality.
 
“Jesus, can’t a girl have any privacy around here?!” I yell.

“You okay?” Rebel asks.

“Yes.
 
I’m fine.
 
Go away.”

“Was that Rebel?” Quin asks.

“Yes,” I whisper.

“Awww …
 
he’s worried about you.
 
That’s so cute!”

I’m whispering, paranoid that he’s got his ear pressed up against the door now.
 
“Quin?
 
Analyze.
 
And don’t let that knocking on the door affect your reasoning, either.”

“Well, it has to be factored in.
 
I mean, he cares about you, right?
 
Or at least he’s worried that you might have fallen in the toilet, so that’s worth something.”
 
She takes a deep breath and continues.
 
“Okay, so, you had a hot little moment with Rebel about a week ago, right?
 
A little bump and grind on the couch?”

“Yes,” I say, sighing in embarrassment.

“And then he basically told you he wasn’t interested after.”

“Yeah, pretty much.
 
And thanks for that synopsis, by the way.
 
That wasn’t utterly degrading.”

“Shut up, I just have to be sure I have it all straight.
 
And how did he act this week?”

“Distant.”

“Did you catch him looking at you at all? Did he make up stupid reasons to talk to you?”

“Maybe he looked at me once or twice when he came in to get coffee.”
 
I picture him walking through the door and do recall him looking my way.
 
Sometimes it seemed like his gaze lingered a little longer than it should have.

“He looked at you once or twice all week, or each day?”

“Each day.”

“Is that normal for him?”

“How am I supposed to know?
 
I just started working here!”

“Fine.
 
He’s the brooding type, we get that.
 
But is he the stalking-slash-staring type?”

“No.
 
Definitely not.”

“Okay, then, we can maybe consider that he’s been regretting his decision to blow you off.”

“No, we can’t.”

“Sure we can.
 
A guy like him isn’t going to keep coming around and making excuses to see you if he really doesn’t want to see you.”

I think about that for a second before answering.
 
“I don’t know whether to agree with you because it makes some kind of weird sense or not agree with you because it makes no sense and I just wish it did.”

“I make sense.
 
You should listen to me, always.”

“What else?
 
Any other great wisdom for me, Yoda?”

“I don’t think you need my jedi man-skills to know that he’s definitely interested.
 
He said he wants you in his bed, right?
 
I mean, it doesn’t get any more obvious than that.”

“Well, he could mean he feels bad about me being on the couch and he’s offering me the bed instead.
 
Maybe he’s going to go sleep with that blonde chick or on his brother’s couch forever.
 
Maybe he’s just being nice.”

Quin snorts.
 
“Please.
 
The guy is all male.
 
He’s not being a choir-boy saint.”

“You don’t know that.”
 
Clinging to his ultimate rejection feels safer than just assuming he wants my body.

“Yes I doooo…”

“I’m going to ask him,” I say, not really meaning it.

“Go for it.
 
I dare you.”

Dammit.
 
Gauntlet thrown down.
 
I’ve trapped myself.
 
Funnily enough, I don’t run from it or try to find a way out.
 
Quin’s dare fires me up enough to go into stupid and reckless mode.

I jump up before I can chicken out.
 
“Fine.
 
Hold on.”
 
I put the phone on the edge of the sink and zip up my pants, making myself presentable before opening the door.
 
I can hear her woo-hooing faintly in the background, down by the sink.