“Why?”
“Because you should be with your family—with Casey and your brother.” Like you should’ve been last night, instead of beating someone almost to death then dry humping me in the locker room.“Not in some random diner, buying food for some girl you don’t know.”
He leans back against the bench. Skulls dance across his veined forearms, and his black t-shirt stretches across his hard chest as he extends his arms along the wooden back.
“All right.” Inked fingers drum against the wood. “My brother and sister…” He makes a face and shakes his head. “Graham and Caseywent for dinner alone because Graham had plans. If I had to guess, the fucker is probably down on one knee right about now.”
My eyes widen. Giddiness and excitement bubble in my chest, eager for my friend. Casey will be so surprised.Andhappy. I know she’s young, even younger than me, but I’ve seen them together. Six months or sixty years, there’s no one else for either of them. But it seems Jagger doesn’t agree. “You don’t approve.”
“I approve. They’re meant to be together,” he says what I was just thinking, but I suppose in his shoes, it is weird. “I knew this was coming years ago.” It seems he realizes what he said because his lips press together before he explains. “Graham didn’t groom her or anything. He didn’t see her as anything but a kid for a long time. Casey was the one with the unending crush. It just kept growing. And she did too. I guess one day Graham woke up and realized she wasn’t a little girl anymore. But it doesn’t make it less weird for me because Graham is my brother by blood. Casey may not be blood, but she’s been my little sister for almost eleven years.”
“Makes sense.”
“Anyway, I left the theater to go do my thing. I was hungry, and I like the burgers here. My sister’s friend was standing at the counter, and she couldn’t find her cash. I didn’t want to wait for her to turn her card on—who turns their card off, by the way—so I paid. Little did I know the girl would be suspicious of everything I did. Just so we’re clear, I don’t expect to get laid for this.”
Contrition—and maybe disappointment—floods my cheeks, and I wince. I have been more than a little ungrateful. The thank you earlier probably didn’t seem sincere since all I’ve done was question his motives for doing it. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to people helping me. Thank you for buying me dinner. And I didn’t think you expectedthatkind of payment.”
“Good.” He lifts his drink and stares over the glass. Mischief dances in his pale green gems. “I would expect to do more than buy you soup and a sandwich for that to happen.” The muscles in his cheeks twitch. “But I think the hot chocolate at least deserves a hand job, right?” When my jaw drops, he bursts out laughing. Shaking my head, I throw a napkin across the table at him.
We finish eating in comfortable silence. Once the last of my hot chocolate is gone, I excuse myself to the restroom. When I return, I grab my coat. “I hate to eat and run, but I don’t want to miss the next train,” I tell him as I push my arms through the sleeves.
He stands, grabbing his jacket. “I could drive you home,” he says as he tosses a twenty onto the table.
The offer is tempting, especially after the creepy feeling I had walking here. And the subway sucks. I hate it with every fiber of my being.
Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?
Poppy
The ride is quiet, but strangely, not awkward. His brows dip when he takes in the building as we arrive, and I know what he’s thinking. “It was my grandparents’ apartment. They bought it like forty or fifty years ago.”
“Ah. So you live with them then?”
I nod, staring at the red brick of the historic apartment complex. “I did. After my mom died, they raised my sister and me. Gramps died a little over three years ago, and Nana died three months ago.”
“Where’s your sister?”
I notice he doesn’t saysorrylike most people do when you tell them about a death in your family, not that I want him to. It makes me curious, but I don’t ask. “I honestly don’t know where Phoebe is. We’re not…our relationship isn’t great. She resents me for a lot of things, and I don’t blame her.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“Not really.” We stare at each other. Fire pools in my belly every time his eyes dip to my lips. Even in the dimly lit cabin of his expensive car, I see the lust and arousal in his eyes. The attraction between us is electric.
And it can go nowhere. Last night was a huge mistake I can’t make again.
I keep going back and forth with myself about whether I should tell him.
Better to rip off the band-aid, I suppose, but instead of saying it, I invite him upstairs. The way his lips curl, tongue swiping over the lower one, I know where his mind went, but that will soon vanish.
My stomach twists with each step, and it’s stupid. I should not care what Jagger Davis thinks about me. Period. We don’t know each other. We’re simply connected by mutuals.
That must be it. I’m worried about what he’ll tell Casey. I mean, I told the dumbest, most unnecessary lie ever when they offered me a ride because I didn’t want her to know what was going on with me—didn’t want her to worry or think less of me. We haven’t known each other long, but I like her. And friends are in short supply for me lately because most of mine have moved on to other dance companies all over the world.
Pushing open my apartment door, I reach to the side and flip the light switch.
He stands behind me, crowding me, his much larger frame towering over mine. He moves closer until his front is pressed to my back. His thick erection presses against me as his warm breath brushes my neck. “Are we standing here all night?”
I can’t move. Not until I get a grip on my hormones and emotions. Not until I get the images of last night in the locker room out of my head. The memory of his hands on my body. His tongue dancing with mine.
