Prove It

Chapter 12

“Actually, I think I should go. Can you take me home?” Sierra asked, blindsiding him. Then, she began shoving books and papers into her bag.

“Whoa. You don’t have to leave.”

“I can take the bus if you can’t take me,” she said, obviously choosing to ignore what he said.

“Look, I’m sorry if I pushed too hard. Don’t go.” He grabbed her arm when she stood and made a move to walk around him. She let him stop her, but she still wouldn’t look at him. Tristan released a sigh of frustration. Would he ever understand girls? They should all come with a goddamned user's manual. “I’m not letting you take the bus. Give me a minute to grab my wallet and I’ll take you home.”

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Sierra closed the front door to her house, put her back against the nearest wall, and immediately broke down. Her heart constricted painfully as unwanted memories assaulted her mind. She couldn’t move from where she was, she couldn’t speak. It was always like this; all she could do was breathe and wait for it to pass.

A million years went by before Sierra felt something close to normal, but she still didn’t move. Her limbs refused to listen to her brain. She just put her head back and kept her eyes closed and wondered how this amazing day went so wrong. If she ever had a chance of being anything more than friends with Tristan, after tonight, she could kiss it goodbye. He was a competitve swimmer, so of course he would want a girl he could swim with. But, not only did Sierra not know how to swim, she was too scared to learn. Tristan must think she’s a freaking psycho for running out on him the way she did. And he was probably right.

The car ride home was silent and awkward and for all the wrong reasons. When they pulled up to her house, Tristan mumbled an unnecessary apology, waited till she walked inside, and then drove away. Sierra regretted the way she acted, but there were things Tristan didn’t know, things he couldn’t possibly know because she didn’t tell him. He didn’t know that she felt she had no choice but to leave before she made an even bigger fool out of herself than she already did. He didn’t know that the wave of panic that came over her at the mention of swimming with him had nothing to do with him. He didn’t know that, for her, swimming with him would be a fantasy of hers come true. She wanted to be able to do that with him more than anything, but things weren’t that simple. She was going to have to talk to him at school tomorrow and prayed that he’d understand.

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Sierra was leaning against a wall in front of the school entrance talking to Reggie when Tristan saw her. She looked beautiful, like she always did. She wore her hair down and Tristan watched the way the wind blew it around her shoulders and into her gorgeous face. Reggie must have said something funny because Sierra’s face lit up the way that it does right before she laughs. She was obviously feeling better because Tristan saw no trace of the dejected girl he took home yesterday.

Sierra texted him, asking him to meet her here after school and it annoyed the shit out of him to find her with another guy, especially Reggie. It bothered Tristan the way Reggie hung all over Sierra, like he owned her. Everyone knew Reggie liked her and Tristan didn't know if Sierra liked him back. He would give anything to know the reason why they weren’t dating. Even Tristan had to admit how right they looked together, but the thought of her with Reggie made him furious.

Fuck. What the hell was happening here? First he had this obsession with staring at her and now he was feeling violent at the thought of her with another guy. Tristan told himself that he just wanted to protect Sierra the way a big brother would, but he was beginning to second guess all of his motives when it came to her. Even with Jessica out of the picture, Sierra still had him twisted up in knots and confused about what he wanted. He probably just needed to get laid. The thought filled his body with warmth. Yeah, that’s exactly what he needed. His mind instantly supplied a list of potential girls for him to choose from.