Given Time

♡19♡

My spine is tingling, waiting for Tanner to do as I asked and talk, yet he remains mute.

He appears to be cautiously watching me, possibly preparing for another fight to ensue. But I just want him to explain himself so he can leave and I can try to salvage my evening with Ben and Zara.

"Growing old here."

"Right," he croaks, sounding as if his mouth is as dry as the Sahara. He coughs twice, clearing his throat before speaking again.

"Before I explain myself, I want to say sorry for what I did to your friend."

"You're only sorry because you just found out he's not into girls! And I'm not the one you should apologize to," I snap back.

"I will before I leave," he quickly tells me, placing his hands on his knees.

"Good," I humph. "Why did you show up here tonight? Couldn't this have waited for another day?"

"I tried texting first. Then I realized your phone was off as my calls wouldn't dial through, so I figured you did it to avoid me."

"I didn't turn my phone off because of you! I turned it off because I didn't want to have any interruptions during the movie."

I point to the laptop screen next to me on the bed, which is on pause on the scene in Grease where Frenchy is serenaded in the diner to go back to high school.

Tanner stares at the screen, and his brow knits together. "I know that now."

Yeah, no shit.

Getting back to the task at hand, I look at Tanner on Zara's bed. "You said you came to see me to straighten 'it' out. So come on, out with it," I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I wanted to see how you were doing after what happened in the library this morning. My temper got the best of me, and I took it too far, even when you were trying to explain yourself. When I saw your friend-"

"Ben," I interrupt, tapping my foot against the board of my bed.

"Ben. I got it into my head that he was your boyfriend, and you didn't want him to know what we were getting up to. Your reaction to him pissed me off, and I wanted to scream that I had my tongue down your throat so he'd call you out."

My jaw drops open.

"I don't know what girls you normally hang out with, Tanner, but I would never cheat on any of my boyfriends. And for you to actively go out of your way to break a couple up is horrible."

"As I said, you pissed me off at the time."

"Oh, and that makes it all okay, does it? You were pissed, so I deserved it. Get the hell out of my room!"

How dare he think he can do something like that and assume a measly apology will fix everything?

I march across the small walkway between the beds, dodging his long legs as I pass by and plant my hand on the lock, turning it sideways so I can get the door open. The door opens a crack before Tanner's hand bangs it shut and grabs me by the hand, spinning me around. I huff from the harsh impact, and once again find myself trapped by Tanner. Why does he keep pinning me against things?

Thankfully, this time he lets go of me immediately and takes a few paces back. "I didn't want to do that, Leah. But I'm not done here. That's not all I wanted to say to you."

"What more is there left to say? You told me exactly why you were hostile to me after you kissed me." I glare at him, annoyed that he's not letting me kick him out.