“Maybe,” he says. “I just hope that you’ll be careful around him.”
I roll my eyes. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”
A pair of headlights shines through the front window, casting a light on the wall that travels from one side of the room to the other as the vehicle outside pulls up next to mine.
“That must be the locksmith,” Oliver says, standing up.
I push the blanket off and follow him to the front door. There’s a white truck with a locksmith logo parked in front of my car. The driver is getting out as we step outside.
“Hey, Oliver. Good to see you,” the driver says.
“Thanks for getting out here so fast, Eddie.”
The two men shake hands and then talk for a minute. It’s clear that they know each other but I don’t know how. I sit down on the top step of Oliver’s porch while Eddie gets to work unlocking my car. Oliver comes over and sits next to me.
“This isn’t how I imagined I’d be spending tonight,” I say.
“Me neither,” he says with a smirk.
“Sorry if I messed up whatever plans you had for tonight.”
“I don’t mind. I didn’t have anything going on anyway. If anything, you made my night more interesting, so thank you.” He leans sideways and nudges my arm with his elbow.
I nudge him back, then tilt my head up to look at him. He’s watching me with an expression I can’t read. It’s similar to how he looked at me after he pulled me through his bedroom window, right before Tina walked in.
His gaze dips down from my eyes to my lips and back up again. The coward in me wants to turn away and find something else to say to avoid another awkward silence. Part of me knows I’ve been hurt by him before, and I’m afraid to read too much into the way he’s looking at me now, the way he leans a little closer to me. I’m tired of being afraid, though, so I hold my ground, keeping my eyes locked on his.
I feel like a magnet is pulling me closer to him. Our faces are only an inch apart. I can feel his breath. I’m not sure which one of us makes the next move, but then his lips are on mine, and my hand is on the back of his neck, pulling him into me. His hands close around my waist. My whole body feels warmer. Our lips separate for only a second and then he comes back in for another kiss. His mouth makes me feel a little drunk. My body feels light, like I might float away if he takes his hands off of me. It’s almost enough to make me forget that we’re sitting on his front porch.
One of his hands comes up, his fingers weaving into my hair, as his mouth takes control of mine. He parts my lips with his. His tongue flicks mine, tasting me, and it sends a weird signal to my brain that makes me want to tug on his shirt until he’s not wearing it anymore. He must possess some sort of dark magic, because he’s making me want things I never thought I would. I want to taste him, touch him,feelhim.
The only thing that breaks the kiss is the sound of Eddie clearing his throat a few feet away. We both turn to look at him. He stands in the middle of Oliver’s yard, looking at us with an embarrassed grin. “Car’s unlocked,” he says.
I take a moment to recover before I stand up. Oliver remains seated on the porch step.
“Thank you so much,” I say to Eddie. “How much do I owe you?”
Eddie waves his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I owed Ryan a favor. Y’all can tell him we’re even now.”
Oliver laughs. “I didn’t realize I could cash in on Ryan’s favors. Thanks, man.”
I watch as Eddie heads back to his truck. I didn’t know he was friends with both Oliver and Ryan. My chest feels tight. For a moment, I thought that Oliver might actually like me, but now I don’t know if he was kissing me because he wanted to or if he was just playing the part in case Eddie says anything to Ryan. I guess it would explain why he waited until Eddie was here to make a move on me.
After Eddie drives away, I turn back around to look at Oliver. I’m standing in the middle of his yard now, and he’s still sitting on his porch. He stands up, pushing both hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Thanks again,” I say. “Hopefully Eddie bought that whole making-out-on-the-porch ruse.”
Oliver’s brow wrinkles. All he says is, “Yeah.”
The confirmation that this was all for show makes my stomach sink. I swallow around a lump in my throat, and then turn back around. I don’t trust my voice, so I get in my car and leave without a word.
ChapterSeventeen
Better Than a Dive Bar
Idon’t realize until long after I get home and I’m climbing into bed that I missed a text from Oliver. He had sent it around the time that I drove away from his house, but I didn’t look at my phone until now.
Oliver
