Judah gave her a tight nod and a quiet “hey,” wondering if he could still escape.
“Ari!” Liana called over her shoulder. “You have a visitor!”
So much for that.
Judah clutched the plastic container behind his back and waited as Gideon and Liana disappeared inside, his heart pounding in his chest, and then there she was, a ribbed white tank top clinging to every curve, black drawstring pants hanging low on her hips. There was a sliver of skin peeking out between them, and he wanted more than anything to drag a finger across it. Or his tongue.
Finally, he met her eyes—narrowed but not as cold as he’d expected. “Hi, Ari.” He held out the clamshell. “Brought you cake.”
“What are you doing here?”
He let his arm fall to his side. “I was on a date with Gideon, decided we’d bring dessert for the afterparty.” She cocked her head, no trace of amusement on her face, and he sighed. “I came to apologize, and to see if we could talk.”
“Judah—”
He stepped up to her and tucked a wild curl behind her ear. “I’m sorry about the date. I’m sorry that while you’re my dream girl, I’m your… nightmare boy. I really did want it to be good. You deserve everything good.”
Ari stared at him for what felt like a full minute, and finally, she exhaled and stepped aside. “Get in here and give me that cake.” He promptly did both, taking a seat on the couch while she went to the kitchen to get a fork. Gideon and Liana had already disappeared into her room and closed the door. “Seriously,” she asked, “what were you doing out with Gideon?”
“Just getting a beer. I don’t have many ‘get a beer’ friends. Figured I should make one.”
“One who’s coincidentally marrying my best friend?” She arched an eyebrow as she made her way to the dining table.
“No,” he said with a wry smile, “one who’s intentionally marrying your best friend.”
She dragged the fork between her lips, watching him watch her. “Talked about me, did you?”
“I couldn’t say. Gideon was really set on keeping our conversation confidential.”
Her snort was far cuter than it should’ve been.
“How’s the cake?”
“Delicious,” she admitted. “I’m kind of mad you remembered that chocolate raspberry is my favorite.”
“You’re not going to offer me any, are you.”
She took another bite. “Nope. You do not get to have my cake and eat it too.” She swiped a finger through the jelly and sucked it into her mouth.
“You’re so bad,” he said, laughing, not even bothering to hide the effect watching her tongue swirl around her finger was having on his pants. “So this is how it’s gonna be? Because I can handle a little torture.”
“Oh, I believe you enjoy a little torture.” She rested her elbow on the back of the chair and propped up her head. “I mean, that’s what you keep coming back for, right? The torture?”
“Maybe I just like to look at you.”
“Shut up.” There was a trace of amusement in her voice as she said it, but he watched it slowly leach out of her eyes, her smile. She set down the fork. “I appreciate the apology and the cake, Judah, but I think you should go.”
“Please can we talk? Five minutes.”
“What’s there to talk about?” She huffed out a breath. “You tried to make this more than it was, and I told you to stop. Then you tried again, and in a moment of stupid weakness, I said yes. And then we went on the most disastrous date of all time. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”
“Nope. Because here’s the thing,” he said, leaning forward and bracing his hands on his knees. “I don’t think I am making this more than it is. I think I’m the one trying to call it what it is. And the fact that our date was a disaster had nothing to do with us. In fact, I was having a damn good time until that whole mess, and I think you were too.”
“Except that whole mess hadeverythingto do with me.” She shoved the cake away and folded her arms over her chest. “Yes, I was having a good time, but that night wasn’t an isolated incident, Hotmusic. I’m not gonna keep being your dirty little secret just so you can maintain your squeaky-clean image.”
“I’m not asking you to be,” he said firmly. “You might even recall that I asked you out on a very public date.”
“As if I could forget.”
