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his expression had fallen , from the merry guy on his third cup of spiced wine to concerned . |
my bravado fled once again , and if id been a puppy , id have put my tail between my legs . |
this celebration wasnt about me . |
it was the holidays . |
once we left , id tell greg my feelings , whether he wanted to hear them or not . |
this break-up would be the stuff of horror stories , or maybe cheesy romantic comedies . |
at least , i hoped it was more like the latter . |
i looked at ethan . |
worry etched itself in the corners of his eyes . |
you keep staring at mr. marine over there , huh ? |
greg grabbed my leg under the table , squeezing hard . |
i tried not to wince , but i mustve shown discomfort . |
im not a marine . |
ethan leaned forward , giving greg a harsh stare . |
he knew something was up . |
shit . |
there goes dinner . |
greg scoffed . |
whatever . |
you know what i mean . |
besides , i was talking to my girlfriend , not you . |
got a problem with that ? |
what , you want to take her for a ride ? |
he smirked , and i wanted to slap it right off his face . |
too bad . |
shes mine . |
greg ! |
i couldnt believe the way he was talking . |
my parents stared in horror , and redness formed in my fathers cheeks . |
if things didnt settle down , hed get involved , and none of us would want that . |
greg squeezed my leg harder as if to silence me , but i wouldnt sit by and let him abuse me like that . |
let go of me . |
that mightve been the worst thing to say because nolan jerked to his feet . |
if you dont let my sister go , ill break your fingers . |
nolan ! |
my mom cried out . |
ethan stood up with him . |
mia , come over here with your brother . |
greg and i need to talk outside . |
he turned to my parents . |
im sorry about this , mr. and mrs. brooks . |
itll just take a moment . |
when he stared at greg again , blatant hostility and power oozed from his every pore , nearly choking me . |
greg let me go , but i wasnt going to sit this out . |
besides , my jerk boyfriend remained planted on his seat . |
maybe he knew if the two of them went outside , he might get his ass kicked . |
good for ethan . |
i stood . |
nolan ... ethan , please go back to eating . |
ill talk to greg . |
i took him by the wrist . |
lets go . |
greg huffed , but he followed me out to the gazebo in the backyard . |
it was far enough away for us to have some privacy in case our discussion became heated . |
what the hell is your problem ? |
i couldnt contain my outrage at how he had acted . |
hed never been this rude in front of my parents . |
ethan and he didnt have a good first meeting , but this went beyond the greg i knew . |
oh no . |
what if this was my karma going to hell ? |
the love potions magic might be burning my relationship while it built up what i had with ethan . |
i wanted to punch my pillow . |
multiple times . |
my problem ? |
disgust curled back gregs lip . |
you are the one to talk . |
you sit there ogling the soldier in front of my face . |
who exactly is the problem here ? |
my jaw dropped . |
im seated in front of him ! |
what am i supposed to do ? |
look at the ceiling or my plate the whole time ? |
i cant help but look at him . |
that sounded wrong . |
i only hoped greg wouldnt take the slip out on me . |
he shook his head . |
thats not what im talking about , so dont pull that smart-alecky shit on me , mia . |
i have the balls in this relationship , and im not fucking blind ! |
you watched him with lust in your eyes . |
he reached for me , but i smacked his hands away . |
i flared my nostrils , not in the mood to take his shit . |
while i hadnt wanted to do this in front of my parents , this was fair game . |
you know what ? |
out of the corner of my eye , i spotted nolan jogging across the lawn toward us . |
what ? |
are you trying to start more shit ? |
greg jerked me closer , but i slapped him . |
were over . |
thats what . |
greg stared at me , his eyebrow cocked high . |
he chuckled as if id told a funny joke . |
youre kidding , right ? |
youre putting this shit on me now of all times ? |
youre such a dirty bitch . |
name calling wont get us back together . |
i grimaced , unable to believe id ever considered settling for him . |
if ethan didnt want me , then i was better off alone . |
far from it . |
i walked away , not wanting to be near him any longer . |
you think you can just walk away from me ? |