“You’ve been drinking.” Not that it seemed like it. He looked stone-sold sober to her.
“Only had two. Been drinking water ever since.”
“Why?”
“Because I was hoping for a chance like this.” He leaned in, his hot breath fanning her cheek. “To take you home.”
“Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Being in a crowded bar with Deke was bad enough. If he got her alone in the confines of a vehicle no telling what she might say or do.
“Come on.” He gestured towards the door. “We can go grab a coffee somewhere. Give those two a little alone time.”
That was the downfall of having a roommate, Harper realized, lack of privacy. And if she knew Jude she’d be locked in her bedroom ‘til sunrise and Harper would have to sleep with a pillow over her ears to block out the noise.
“Where are we gonna get coffee at this time of night?” Theirs was the kind of small town where the sidewalks rolled up at eight o’clock.
“We could go back to my place.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like that’s a good idea.”
“What?” He smirked. “You don’t trust yourself alone with me? I promise I won’t let you do anything you’ll regret in the morning.”
If she wanted to sleep with Deke she was pretty sure he wouldn’t try to talk her out of it. “Yeah, right.”
“Come on,” he teased. “My nephew’s there to act as a chaperone. What could happen?”
“Pretty sure your nephew’s sleeping by now, but nice try.”
“You ever tried to have sex with a five year-old who’s a light sleeper a few feet away?”
“Can’t say that I have.” And the visual of Deke doing just that made her stomach roil in protest. Ugh! She had no right to be jealous or possessive of this man after so many years.
“Look, if you’re not cool with that we could always hang out at my shop. There’s a lounge in the back for my staff.”
That sounded even more dangerous, but Deke was right, she couldn’t go home if there was a chance Jude had taken Jason back to their apartment.
“What the hell,” she muttered. “I have a feeling I won’t be getting any sleep tonight anyhow.”
“Oh yeah, why is that?”
He curled his arm around her waist as he led her off the dance floor, and Harper thought about telling him to keep his hands to himself, but didn’t want to cause a scene. “No doubt Jude and Jay will be goin’ at it by the time I get home.”
Deke laughed. “Lucky them, huh?”
Damn him. Why did he always have to say the one thing guaranteed to turn her on? It had been like that when they were together too. She’d be pissed at him for some stupid thing he did or said, then say something that made her want to jump him.
She narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing?”
He shrugged those broad shoulders, trying to look all innocent, but she wasn’t buying it. “What am I doing?”
If she told him he’d think he had the upper hand and she couldn’t have that. “Never mind. Let’s just go say our good-byes so we can get out of here.”
Their friends gave them a hard time when they announced they were leaving together, just like Harper knew they would, but she wasn’t sixteen anymore and was past the point of caring what people said or thought.
“Did that bother you?” Deke asked as he walked her to a jacked-up black pick-up truck.
“What?”
“Everybody giving you a hard time.” He used the key fob before opening the door for her.
