Damn him.
Trying to remain unaffected, I crossed my arms over my chest as I turned to him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t come here, especially with Leah.”
He took in my stance, and his perfect lips turned up into a panty-dropping smile.
“If I remember correctly,” Drew said playfully, “I never agreed to that.” He shrugged. “And we haven’t talked in a while. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Leah said you seemed down.”
I groaned. “Remind me to kill her,” I said under my breath.
“What was that, darlin’?” Drew asked knowingly.
The way he said “darling” made my stomach flutter, but I ignored it.
“I’m fine. In fact,” I raised my chin, “I met someone.”Lie.
“Oh, really?” Drew asked, a jealous edge to his voice. He leaned forward, his elbows on top of the bar. Under the dimmed lighting, his eyes were even more enchanting as they searched mine. “What’s he like?”
“He’s—well, he’s …” I trailed off, lost for what to say. “You know what? I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“Yeah?” Drew licked his lips, making me realize I’d leaned in, too.
We were practically inches away from each other as he spoke softly, not having to yell over the bar noise.
“Well, I think there isn’t any guy, and if there was,” he paused and was so close I could feel his warm, minty breath on my lips, “I bet he couldn’t make you come as hard as I could if you gave me the chance.”
My face and body heated at his words. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, remembering the first time we kissed and how close we came to something more.
From the knowing look on his face, he seemed like he was reminiscing, too.
Damn it, Kat. Get a grip!
I backed away from him and clamped my hand over my torso as if to stop the incessant fluttering in my stomach as it traveled lower.
“I’m busy, Drew,” I said, trying to sound indifferent. “What do you really want?”
“You know what I want, Katherine,” he narrowed his eyes and wiggled his brows, “and it’s not on the menu.”
I tried to keep my stoic mask in place, but it was hard when he said some cheesy innuendo like that.
My mouth pulled up into a smile. I couldn’t help it. He was charming, and he knew it.
“There it is.” Drew teased. “There’s that smile I’ve missed. I was starting to think I’d never see it again since you’ve been avoiding me.”
The smile fell from my lips as remorse ripped through me. I cared for Drew. I never wanted to hurt him, but it was for the best.
Drew reached out and lifted my chin up to meet his gaze. His heartbroken expression, with his knitted brows and pouty lips, caused the remorse inside me to swell.
“Why have you been avoiding me, Katherine?” he asked, his voice laced with desperation.
“You know why, Drew,” I said softly.
“Because of Leah? You know that’s a bullshit excuse.”
I did, because out of anyone, Leah was our biggest supporter. She’d been pushing for us to get together since that first day in self-defense class.
But I couldn’t tell Drew the truth. That was even worse.
