Chapter Five

“Uhm, I don’t know where to go from here,” Nicholas said as we reached Jen’s neighborhood.

“I thought you were a boy scout. You found my house,” I said.

He looked at me from the corner of his eye for a second, and then he looked back on the road. “Your father is a prominent man. Your house is the biggest on the block. Everybody in this town knows where you live.” He stopped on the side of the road. “Now, which way?”

I gave him directions. By the time we arrived at Jen’s house, we were officially thirty minutes late. I felt bad for making her wait but smiled to myself for a mission accomplished. Jen was going to freak out and be mad at him! And I’d be around to watch. For a moment, it would provide entertainment, enough to make me forget about the foul terminologies my father chose to use on me.

Jen was already pacing in front of her gate. I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling.

Good luck, Nicky! This is very impressive!

“I’m sorry, we’re late. I found it difficult to find your house,” Nicholas apologized, not even looking slightly embarrassed.

What an overconfident prick.

I braced myself for the tantrum that was about to come. However, instead of being angry, Jen smiled at him sweetly and touched his arm as she said, “It’s no big deal, Nicky. At least you know where I live now.” Then she batted her eyelashes at him.

Shit! I did not see that coming!

I was prepared for a blowup, or at the very least, mild sarcasm. I did not expect her to flirt with the guy who did the very thing she hated on a date.

Then Jen turned to me and raised a brow. I gave her an innocent smile.

“You, on the other hand, know exactly where my house is,” she said. “Did you provide the right directions?” It was clear that she wasn’t pleased with me.

“I wasn’t the one behind the wheel,” I argued. “And you know I like to drive fast.”

“It’s my fault,” Nicholas interrupted. “Ken told me exactly where you live. I’ve been gone a while. The streets have changed. I made a few wrong turns. Shall we go now?” To prevent further argument, Nicholas whisked Jen to the car. He opened the door of the backseat for her.

Ass. Why would he even make the girl he’s interested in sit there?

Ha! Jen hates sitting at the back. 

But instead of arguing or looking displeased about it, she just smiled at him.

Oh, come on! 

I couldn’t help but groan and roll my eyes this time. Nicholas noticed my distress. He smiled apologetically as he opened the door to the passenger seat and motioned for me to get in. I wasn’t sure if he was just being polite or if this was his idea of getting back at me.

“Seriously?” I asked, raising a brow.

“Unless you wanna drive,” he replied innocently. 

I walked toward the passenger side of the car and pushed him out of the way. Not too hard that Jen would notice, but hard enough that Nicholas would know for sure that he was pissing me off.

I didn’t say another word throughout the ride. 

In fact, I spoke less than ten sentences the entire night. When I took my seat behind the drums, I was on fire. I poured all my frustrations into the drums in front of me. I pretended to be in wonderland, having my own concert.

On the way home, Jen was trying to strike a conversation with Nicholas. He seemed happy with the attention. I couldn’t give a damn. I was looking out the window pretending to tune out Jen’s annoying high-pitched voice and phony giggles.

Yeah, sadly, I know her too well. I know when she’s faking it. Gees! I wonder if she fakes it in bed, too!

I barely noticed when Jen got off in front of her house. Did she wave goodbye to me? I hardly noticed. And frankly, I couldn’t care less. I always thought Jen was smarter. I had no idea her brains would turn to jelly for a guy who obviously only wanted to get into her pants.        

I was quiet the rest of the way. I didn’t speak to Nicholas. He didn’t say anything either. I was thankful for the silence.

However, when he stopped the car, I realized that he didn’t stop in front of my house.

He’s taken me somewhere else…