“One hour, then you’ll leave me alone?” When he nods, I huff, “Fine!”
Undeterred by my snark, Nick grasps my hand in his, then guides us onto the street. When my gaze turns back to the salon, Aunt Dee and Shirley are once again standing at the window with their hands held over their hearts. I roll my eyes at the two sappy romantics before preparing for battle. I only have to survive an hour, then I’ll be scot-free. Nick will leave me alone.
Don’t ask me why, but disappointment was the first feeling that bombarded me during my unspoken thought. Nick is annoying as hell, but what girl doesn’t like being chased?
The smell of grease smacks me in the face when we enter one of the numerous cafes lining the main street of Erkinsvale. This time, when the waitress takes our order, I request an overloaded burger, fries, and a coke. I’m famished since I haven’t eaten a thing since breakfast.
“I’ll have the same as her,” Nick informs the waitress before handing back our menus.
When the waitress leaves to prep our order, Nick scoots closer to my side of the booth. “Hungry today?”
My lips purse. “Not really, I just figured since you were paying, I may as well order the most expensive thing on the menu.”
I’m partly lying; I'm starving, but I also did order the most expensive thing I could find.
When Nick laughs, he gains the attention of several patrons in the café—both male and female—and my pussy tingles. Not just because everyone is staring at us, but because Nick’s hearty chuckles are vibrating my core, shattering not just the walls I built around my heart specifically to keep him out, but my morals as well.
Once his laughter simmers, he snickers, “At this rate, I’ll be broke by the end of the day.” He scoots in until our thighs touch. “But I’m sure you’ll be worth it.”
* * *
The most amazing thing happens over the next hour. Nick and I sit in the café like regular friends do. We eat and talk, and not once does he overstep any of the boundaries I place between us.
At first, it feels a little odd, but as our conversation progresses, it reminds me of the chats Emily and I have every time we see each other. He asks about school and what my plans are now that I’ve graduated. He tells me how his band has been in contact with a music executive, and that they’re scheduled to meet him at his head office later this month.
I’m ecstatic for both Nick and his bandmates. Slater has become a close friend of mine, so I’m well aware this is what the band has been aiming for the past three years.
I enjoy my time with Nick so much, I'm reluctant to go back to work. I haven’t experienced this side of him before. He’s always been overly cocky, and his sexual hunger beams out of him, but today, he made an effort to get to know me instead of what color my panties are.
It feels so natural being around him, we walk back to the salon hand in hand. His palms are as clammy as mine, his pulse just as strong, but the electricity zapping between us makes the less than stellar conditions worthwhile.
Once we reach the entrance, Nick shifts on his feet to face me. Butterflies take off in my stomach when his eyes leisurely assess my face. It seems as if he’s taking in each detail, like he may soon lose the opportunity. When he lifts his hand to rub my earlobe, an unexpected moan spills from my lips. It shifts to a growl when he lowers his mouth to give me a heartfelt kiss.
The gentle movements of his mouth and the wicked curls of his tongue have my knees buckling in no time at all. I’ve never been kissed like this before. It’s an all-encompassing embrace that warns of danger while also advising the reward will far exceed the threat. Just like him, it's both dangerous and worthwhile.
When Nick inches back from our embrace, my sluggish eyes open. The excitement tingling low in my core doubles when I notice his eyes are as hooded as mine and his lips just as swollen. There’s just one difference: his brows are furled in anger instead of being arched with excitement.
The reason for his sour expression comes to light when he murmurs, “My hour is up.”
Ensuring he maintains his side of our deal, he spins on his heels and bolts to his truck parked across the street. The smell of burning rubber lingers in my nostrils when he leaves me standing on the sidewalk utterly dumbfounded.
How can you kiss someone like that and leave? Did he not feel what I felt?
Only once his truck is nothing but a blur do I enter my aunt’s salon.
“Oh my goodness, Jenni, when you said he was a player, you failed to mention he is gorgeous!” my Aunt Dee squeals, gaining the attention of customers waiting to be served.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when Shirley says, “That boy can play me like a fiddle anytime he likes.”
Gagging, I stride past the two perverted middle-aged women. I place my satchel in my locker in the back of the salon. When I catch my heated cheeks in the shiny metal, I head to the washroom to splash some water on my face, hoping it will settle the redness.
Nothing works. Just spending the last hour with Nick revealed there’s no chance in hell my head will ever overrule my heart when it comes to him, then our kiss sealed my fate.
I’m a goner.
Chapter Twelve
Nick
