Her Street Fighter

28.

Chapter Twenty Eight
Marebela

"You look wonderful!" Dolan complimented me. We were currently sorting books again. It felt like that was all we did at the job. The books were always in a mess.

I blushed. I couldn't help it, every time someone complimented me, it made me go all red. I thanked him and tried to continue the conversation by complimenting something of his, but nothing came to my mind.

He took my silence as a sign to continue talking. "If people would just put the books back when they are done with them. We wouldn't have so much work to do," he said giddily. Wow! He read my thoughts.

I laughed.

Lai and Brandy bursted through the door.

"Dolan! Guess what?" Lai exclaimed.

"You finally kissed Jerkface or whatever his name is," Dolan replied.

"His name is a Jackson," Lai snarked.

"Whatever his name is," Dolan repeated.

"I don't like him either," Brandy added.

Lai noticed me and her face lit up. "Mare? I didn't know you worked here."

"I'm new," I told her. I felt embarrassed for some reason.

Did she think it was weird? No, she wouldn't think that. Brandy on the other hand, would.

"I hope Dolan isn't giving you too much of a hard time," Lai said jokingly.

"Of course not," Dolan snapped. "She likes working with me."

I nodded my head in agreement.

I could get used to this.

I jumped up when my phone started buzzing on the counter. Gunn and I were on the couch. He was watching a fight on the TV. I picked up my phone and saw a call from Dolan.

Why was he calling?

I slowly leave the living room and go into my room. I answered the call, pressing the phone against my ear.

"Hello?"

"Mare!" Dolan greeted on the other end. I couldn't help but smile.

"Hi, Dolan! Is anything wrong?" I asked. I wanted to clarify why he was calling. We saw each other earlier today.

"No, everything is great. I was just thinking about you, and I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to a party tonight?"

"A party?" I asked. I followed up with, "Tonight?"

"Yes," he agreed. "Do you think you can go?"

"I've never been to a party before," I admitted. I felt a heavy feeling in my chest and I tried to swallow to relieve the pressure. It stayed there whenever I thought about the party.

"It'll be fun," Dolan said. I could hear the excitement in his voice. I could only picture the wide smile on his face.

I felt guilty for kissing Gunn when I was talking to Dolan at the same time. I promised myself I wouldn't let myself get caught up in Gunn anymore. He didn't deserve it. From now on, my attention was only on Dolan. The nice, kind man who is the complete opposite from Gunn. That was who I was supposed to spend my time on.

"Mare?" Dolan questioned on the line. I must have been silent for a while. I felt embarrassment wash over me.

"Yes! I'm still here," I paused. "I'll go."

"You will? Alright, perfect. I will see you tonight. The party is at 10," he told me.

My eyes widened. "10!?" I questioned. I go to bed at that time. Lately I have been getting a good sleep. I haven't been experiencing nightmares much and I finally slept through the night. I needed to keep it that way. If I go to this party my sleep schedule would be ruined.

"Yes, it is actually the earliest a party as ever started," Dolan stated. "Look, if you get too tired, I'll take you home."

What was the worst that could happen? I sighed. "Okay, I'll see you at 10!"

Dolan said, goodbye and then hung up. I kept the smile plastered on my face as I walked out of my room.

"He's playing you," Gunn said nonchalantly. He didn't even look up from his spot on the couch.

I frowned. "Why do you have to ruin everything good in my life?"

"Suit yourself," Gunn scowled. "Go to the party, but I'll have to inform you that bad people are going to be there tonight."

I scoffed. "You're only saying that to stop me from going."

He was smart, but I caught on to what he was doing. He didn't want me going to this party, so I would do the exact opposite of what he wanted.

Gunn stood up from his chair. He stood tall and I got a faint smell of cinnamon and cedar wood. What cologne did he use? He smelt clean and... manly.

I couldn't help but feel intimidated by him still.

"I'm going Gunn, you can't stop me." I stood my ground. I was not going to listen to him.

He moved slowly towards me. Instead of taking a few steps back, I stood in the same spot. He came closer to me until we were almost touching. He crouched down, so he can make sure I heard what he was going to say.

"You're going to get hurt," he whispered roughly. "A party like the one he's going to is no match for a girl like you."

"You don't even know me," I said angrily. "I'm stronger than you think."

He didn't seem convinced. He hummed in fake agreement, "Mh-hmm."

"I am," I snarked. "You don't own me. I can do what I want."

"Not when you're going with a loser." He stood up, but his neck still craned to look at me.

Why did he have to be so tall?

"Careful," I laughed. "You're jealousy is showing."

His eyes darkened and I could tell he was getting angry. He pressed me against the wall. His hands took a grip on my wrists. "I'm not jealous," he breathed. "In order to do that, I would have to have feelings for you in the first place."

I bit my cheek, but that didn't stop the humiliation that drowned on me. Why did his words hurt a bit? "I hate you," I seethed.

"You're not the first to hate me, sweetheart." He said the endearment like it was poison in his mouth.

I released my wrists from his grip and pushed him away from me. Or I attempted too, he was as hard as steel. He didn't move.

"You don't want him," he whispered in my ear. I felt the need to squeeze my legs together to relieve the tingling sensation. He moved his hands so they were resting on my hips and he pulled me closer than I already was to him. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Not when I make you feel things you've never felt with him or anybody."

He was such an asshole. I felt tears prick behind my eyes. Why did he have to know the effect he had on me? It made me feel so frustrated.

"Let go of me," I snapped. I pushed his hands away from my body and I immediately wanted them back. I wanted to place them back where he had them, even in more spots than that.

I cursed myself for being like this around him. I needed to get a hold of myself.

He was bad news.

But he was right.

I never felt this way with Dolan.