Full Out

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The engine of Roman's mustang roared to life before taking off down the street. Ezra had already left with McKenna without a word. There was no promise to text or call me. I wasn't even sure if I was allowed to have any contact with him. Was I supposed to wait for Ezra to come to me? How long was that going to take?

"Sorry about McKenna," Roman's voice cut through the silence. I turned to him. He glanced at me once before staring back at the road. He had one hand on the wheel and the other in his lap. "I messed up again."

"What do you mean?" I asked with my eyebrows scrunched.

"She asked if I wanted to hang out tonight and I told her that I couldn't because I was hanging out with you at the diner. Twenty minutes later she shows up." Roman's face was in a slight frown.

"Does that creep you out at all? It's like she's following you around?"

Roman thought for a minute before he shrugged. "It's flattering, but weird at the same time. I don't really know what to think of it."

I nodded and lied my head back against the headrest, not being able to think of a reply. Thankfully, I didn't have to.

"But it was cool to see Ezra," Roman smiled. "He's cool."

Just the mention of his name made me want to burst into tears again. I felt that I had ruined everything. Why didn't I just tell him how I felt instead of trying to make him jealous? I should have told him the truth about where I was and why I was late getting to Harry's house. He wouldn't have liked it, but I was sure that it would've been less a fight than this.

I had to tell Roman the truth as well before that blew up in my face too.

Tomorrow.

Or maybe Saturday, since he had a game tomorrow that he needed to stay focused for.

"Yeah," I swallowed, my voice barely above a whisper. I zipped my mouth shut, afraid that I would start to cry if I said anything. Roman had heard me cry plenty of times, but I knew that he would ask the reason for my tears and I couldn't explain it to him.

I peered at my hands for a little while longer before turning my attention out the window. I watched as trees zoomed by, other cars on the road driving to their destinations. I wondered how many of them had experienced what I had just gone through. For their sake, I hope they hadn't and that they never would.

Suddenly, something warm ran over my thigh. I peeked down, my cheeks heating. Roman gently laid his large hand on the area just above my kneecap. My eyebrows furrowed. He had never done that before? What was this?

"What are you..." I began, eyeing his hand that was rubbing up and down my thigh before turning to his face. Roman's touches were familiar and warm. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to snuggle him until all of the bad was over, but that didn't stop the confusion of his gesture. I should have asked why he was doing it rather than what he was doing. My overloaded brain could barely think straight anymore.

Roman was quiet for a moment, his hands going tense as he stopped in the middle of my thigh. He glanced at me, his eyebrows rose, like he didn't know what to do. "I just thought... at the diner you..."

I blinked at him, trying to understand what he was saying. What did this have to do with the diner?

Roman sighed and swallowed, turning his eyes back to the road. "I know you're upset about McKenna and I couldn't really find another way to comfort you, I guess."

Roman's reply seemed genuine, but there was something else underneath it. Was he nervous?

And did he really think that McKenna was the reason I was upset? I thought for sure that he would have been suspicious about Ezra and I being gone for so long. Then again, he knew how much I disliked being around Caster.