White Noise

21

            I climbed into the passenger seat of his Range Rover, gently setting down the beige purse I had stolen from Caroline's closet at my feet.

I was nervous. I was always nervous to see JD. But I was especially nervous tonight. Because tonight could only go one of two ways—amazing or terrible.

I was hoping to avoid direct eye contact for at least a few minutes while I gathered my bearings, but JD's eyes were like lasers on the side of my skull, and when he made no move to shift the car into drive, I knew I had no choice but to look at him.

His eyes were so blue it made me swallow twice—no, three times—just to regain my breath. His gaze moved slowly up and down my body. I could see the wanton in his eyes as he scanned every inch of me, but when his gaze met mine again, they'd shifted. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it definitely wasn't the lusting look I'd witnessed only moments before.

"You're going to make this hard on me, aren't you?"

I felt the color drain from my face as his features grew dark. "What? I mean, I—"

"You look incredible, Katie," he said, and I saw a hopeful glimmer of cobalt flicker through his irises before they went black again. "That's the problem."

I looked down at my outfit in shock. I didn't think I was wearing anything outrageous. The only thing I had stolen from Caroline's closet was her purse. The forest t-shirt green shirt I wore was cropped at my belly button. But I also had on high-waisted jean shorts, so my midriff was hardly exposed. I wouldn't say I looked incredible. Much less, why any of this was a problem.

I felt stupidly innocent and doe-eyed when my eyes refocused on him. "The problem?"

He was staring straight ahead, drumming his fingers aggressively on the steering wheel. "You don't get it."

"Get what?" The words tumbled out frantically. He was mad. At me? It could be anything. I didn't know how to navigate these waters. Was my outfit too much? Not enough?

My mind agreed with that answer. Not enough.

"You're going to be eaten alive wearing something like that." His voice was low, his words riding on a scoff.

I was still painfully, horribly confused. The only words I could utter were, "I can go change."

His eyes snapped to mine so fast I flinched. Jaw tight, teeth clenched, he ground out, "No."

My exhales became short and fast. Of course. The one thing I thought would help only seemed to make it worse.

Suddenly his whole body angled toward me, and he sighed loudly as his eyes closed. I didn't dare breathe as I waited.

This was it. This was the end of the road. I knew it was going to come—it was inevitable. He was JD Whitmore. I was just Kate. To the outside world, we didn't make sense. And they weren't wrong. It was only a matter of time before he realized it too.

I had just hoped I would have a little more time.

His eyes reopened and I inhaled on instinct. Bracing myself.

His voice was soft for the first time since I'd gotten in the car. "I'm sorry."

A good start. I was waiting for it. The it's not you, it's me monologue.

"I just really like you."

What?

"And every guy is already going to be after you tonight because you're a new face."