Chapter 14: Playing Hard to Get With Me

"What's your relationship with Julian Shepherd?" The question hit me straight in the gut. I looked up. His expression was unreadable, but there was a sharpness in his voice, like he was accusing me of something. Hearing Julian's name still hurt, but I'd gotten better at hiding it. "There is no relationship. He and I are nothing now." Julian used to be my future. Now, he wasn't even a footnote. "Serena, you expect me to believe that?" Arthur's voice dropped, edged with disbelief and anger? I froze. How did he know my name? "I don't remember telling you who I was. How do you know my name?" His eyes locked on mine, so deep it felt like falling into them. "You think I can't find out something that simple?" he said flatly. "Besides, that woman clinging to Julian screamed it at you loud enough." Right. Monica. Still, hearing him say it so casually made my skin crawl a little. "I need to go," I said quietly. "Running into you today was a fluke. And I do appreciate what you did, but I really need to leave now." I turned, but he didn't let me go. His arms came up, hands braced on the wall behind me. His body leaned in close, trapping me between him and cold concrete. My heart jumped into my throat. He was too close. Too tall. Too good-looking. My brain had no idea how to process all of it at once. "You're just walking away?" His voice was lower now. Soft, but dangerous. Like he wasn't asking, just waiting for a wrong answer. "What do you want?" I whispered, barely able to breathe. "Tell me," he said, eyes narrowing, "are you playing hard to get?" That did it. Anger surged into my chest like fire. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm not playing anything." I shoved his arm and slipped out from under him. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you've clearly got the wrong idea. Whatever happened that night was a mistake. I'm not interested in doing it again. And I'm definitely not trying to mess with your head." To my surprise, he didn't stop me. No snide comment. No move to chase me. Just silence. On the sidewalk, the late afternoon sun felt like a spotlight. My legs carried me forward, but my head was spinning. I couldn't shake the memory of Arthur's stare, his voice, his breath so close. What had just happened? I didn't know what I felt. Confusion? Frustration? A little fear? Maybe all of it. When I got back to Naomi's apartment, she jumped on me before I even closed the door. "Spill. Who was that guy? The one from the mall. That's the guy you slept with, isn't it?" Naomi's eyes sparkled with curiosity. Her smile said she already knew the answer. I groaned and dropped my bag. "Don't start." But I knew it was already too late. She'd seen everything. And she wasn't letting this go.