I raised an eyebrow. “Is your other friend sober?”
She nodded. “She is. I promise.”
“Okay then.” I patted her on the arm. “Y’all have a good rest of the night, and be careful.”
“We will,” Brooke said as she and her friend disappeared into the crowd.
When I turned back to Cash, his eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly, and I suddenly felt self-conscious.
“What?” I asked.
“That was just… ” Cash trailed off as he moved closer to me, his hand finding mine.
With that little Chad diversion out of the way, my thoughts drifted back to the way Cash’s hand felt on my skin.
“Do you want to get out of here?” I raked my teeth over my bottom lip.What are you doing, Ella? He is off-limits. He is—
“Yeah.” He nodded slowly, slipping his other arm around me. His mouth was so close to mine I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips. “Yeah, I do.”
Six
Cash
The Uber rideback to Ella’s place was short, and our driver, a young fellow named Dean, tried to keep us entertained with stories about his organic vegetable garden. To be honest, I wasn’t listening. No offense to Dean—it was just hard to pay attention to anything when Ella was sitting next to me with her golden hair framing her face like the crown of some sort of sun goddess.
I stole glances of her in the passing street lights, and I wondered what she was thinking. She reached over, placing her hand on my thigh, and my pulse began to thud in my ears. Our eyes met, and we seemed to be stuck in a wordless conversation of are we or aren’t we. I wondered if she could see through me. Could she see how unnerved she made me?
We’d both been drinking, though, I had to admit the alcohol was starting to wear off. I felt like I was caught somewhere between reality and a fantasy world… lost in those first couple of moments of waking up after a really good dream, except that dream was sitting right next to me. Her clear blue eyes peered at me from beneath her lashes as Dean pulled to a stop. I should do the right thing. And the right thing was to drop her off at her house and take the Uber back to my own place. I still had things I was working through. It hadn’t even been three years yet...
“Here we are,” Dean chirped.
Do the right thing, Cash.
“Do you want to come in?” Ella asked before I could decide if I was, in fact, going to do the right thing.
I felt like I was swallowing dry air. “I’d like that.”
We climbed out of the Uber, and Ella wished Dean good luck with his garden. My heart slammed against my chest as though it were a sledgehammer in the hands of one of thoseProperty Brotherson demolition day.
“I guess we’re lucky this night didn’t end with you having to bail me out of jail for beating Chad’s ass.” Ella’s voice broke the silence as we walked up the stone path to her dusty-blue, Craftsman-style house in the heart of the Melrose neighborhood.
I laughed. “I would have been sitting in that jail cell right next to you. There’s no way I wouldn’t have gotten in a punch or two. After you whooped him, of course.” We reached the door, and she dug in her tiny purse for her keys. The bright yellow of the door glowed beneath the porch light. “When you told me you had this and you railed on that guy? That was hot. You don’t need anyone, and that’s incredibly sexy to me.”What are you doing, Cash?
She stuck the key in the lock before turning her gaze to me. “Just because I don’t need anyone doesn’t mean I don’t want anyone.” She grabbed my tie and pulled me into her, closing the distance between us.
Her lips grazed mine, softly at first, as she guided me over the threshold and slammed the door behind us. She gently tugged on my lower lip with her teeth as her hands climbed my chest.
“Ella…” I broke our kiss, and her lips landed on my neck, soft and warm like a cashmere scarf. “Are you sure this is okay?” My jaw clenched, desperate to retain what little self control I had left.
Her laugh vibrated against my skin before her eyes met mine again. “I did ask you to come in, didn’t I?”
My cheeks burned beneath the heat of her gaze, and I gave her a bashful nod.
She leaned in as though she were about to kiss me, but stopped. “So, it’s settled then.”
I felt any resolve I’d had burst into flames. We were a tangle of kisses and arms as I leaned her against the door, sliding the deadbolt until it clicked. With one hand tangled in her hair, I let the other travel down her body, the silky material of her dress sliding beneath my fingertips.
“Bedroom,” Ella murmured as she kissed her way down my jawline. “Down the hall. Now.” She guided me through the dark to a room toward the back of the house lit only by the moonlight filtering through the blinds. “So many clothes. Aren’t you hot?” She shoved the door closed behind us with her foot while her hands tore at my jacket.
