“Well, that’s because I don’t like to point out my flaws. No girl does.”
Leaning back against the counter, he crossed his arms over his chest, showcasing his muscles and temporarily distracting me from the uncomfortable conversation we were about to have. When I didn’t immediately start talking, he smirked at me.
“Hey, eyes up here. I’m not a piece of meat, you know.”
“Then stop looking like something I want to lick,” I teased.
His head tilted up a notch, and that mischievous smile returned. “Nice try, but you’re not getting out of this. Come on. Tell me what’s going on.”
Groaning, I launched into it. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Then you wouldn’t be so reluctant to tell me.”
“Only because I hate to prove people right.”
“Then prove me right. Tell me the story, and I’ll prove to you that it doesn’t matter to me.”
Man, he was good. “Fine. It all started back in high school. There was this boy?—”
“There always is,” he grinned.
Smirking, I continued. “And his name was Ryder Lawson.”
“Bad boy? Spiky hair? Smoldering good looks?”
“Something like that. Though not really spiky hair. But he did have amazing chocolate eyes.”
“More amazing than mine?”
“Not even close,” I teased. “We were dating, and it was our goal to get out of town and see the world after graduation. Neither of us wanted to be stuck in our small town, living the small town life.”
“Uh-oh. I think I see where this is going.”
“No, you don’t. So, we wanted to get out and see the world, but we had no money. But we did have his dad’s pickup truck. So, we took that into Missoula and walked around the city. We saw all sorts of things that you just can’t find at home, and it was amazing.”
“So, what happened?”
“Well, it started with this small bracelet that cost less than five dollars. He wanted me to have it. He said it was something to remember the day by. I knew it was wrong, and I should have stopped him, but I didn’t.”
My smile faded as I remembered running out of that store, laughing with Ryder as he slipped the bracelet around my wrist with the price tag still intact.
“From there, we went into a shop and stole the latest U2 CD to listen to on the way home.” I laughed humorlessly as I looked up at the ceiling. “God, I still remember the high I got when we walked out of the store and weren’t caught. How my hands shook when he convinced me to slip it in my purse because it would be hidden better.”
“Is that where it ends?”
“Unfortunately, no. Next was our dine and dash. And it almost worked, except that when we ran out of the restaurant, we slammed right into an officer. The waitress was right behind us and told him what we did. When we were cuffed, the officer went through my purse and found the CD. He searched me and found the bracelet on my wrist.”
Rob’s eyebrows shot up. “That little shit let you take the fall for everything?”
“Actually, no. He told the officer it was all his idea, that he convinced me to do it. But it didn’t matter. I chose to go along with it. And if the officer had just called my parents to pick me up, that would have been the end of it for the most part. But instead, he drove us home and dropped us off in cuffs, marching us right through the front doors of the police station.”
“And the gossip spread,” he surmised.
I nodded, ashamed I had done any of that. “So, Mom and Dad had to pick me up, and by then, word had spread about what we had done. I was the family embarrassment, and haven’t improved much since then.”
“I doubt they see you that way,” he said, trying to make me feel better.
“Maybe, but I see it when I look in their eyes. They’re wondering how things might have been different.”