Page 37 of I Choose You

“Are you sure I didn’t do anything stupid?”

I held up my fingers in a scout’s honor.

She smirked. “You weren’t a boy scout.”

“I’m sure.”

“That you weren’t a scout?”

I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t do anything stupid.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Did I say anything stupid?”

“Nope. You were a joy. Lots of laughter.”

“Hmm.” She pursed her lips at me, clinging to suspicion. “Thanks for setting out that water and pills.”

“Did it help?”

She pulled off a mixture of a nod and shake of her head in the same motion.

Much like last night, we talked and joked. She had a sparkling water with lemon that she sipped. I stuck with a beer and took it slow. The “band” ended, and when louder music came on, we relocated to a booth, sitting side by side to be able to talk to each other and hear without shouting.

Just like she did last night, she wore casual, almost grungy clothes. Seated so close to her, I felt the difference of fabric when her knee brushed mine, the ripped and frayed hole of her jeans noticeable. She seemed to tug at her collar often—a Rolling Stones shirt—and I wondered if she felt like I was leering at her too much. I noticed she touched her hair often, too, perhaps worried if a strand was out of place. If anyone were to ask me, I wanted it mussed up even more. Wild and tousled.

I drew a deep breath, ignoring those thoughts.

While she seemed relaxed, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that she was self-conscious about her appearance. Maybe it was a vulnerability because she woke up feeling like shit? I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to ask. But instead of admiring the tattoos I could see even better with the shorter sleeves, I refrained and simply listened to what she said.

When did she get them? Why? She was vague about what her life looked like between high school and now, and I was curious about her story. Not just about the collection of tattoos and the motivation behind them all, but how she got her edge. She was brilliant and sharp business-wise, and I’d experienced firsthand her dogged dedication to detail and tending to the work that needed to be done. She wouldn’t be sloppy with any contract or correspondence on behalf of Halden Inc. Todd was lucky to have a well-rounded and level-headed employee like her. That part of her didn’t shock me. She’d always had a mind for problem-solving and math. Science had been a breeze for her, as I well knew.

I still remembered getting that A on our shared chemistry presentation. Dad had been so proud and Kody had been so pissed and jealous.

Those few months of senior year had been really tough so soon after losing Mom. I’d tried my best, but that one assignment?

What was it? It’d bug me. I couldn’t ask her, either. I didn’t want her to know I was zoning off as she told me about how she’d tried for a grant recently, something for Halden Inc. It was fascinating, but now that the thought struck me about that project we’d collaborated on, I couldn’t help but want to remember what it was about.

I couldn’t ask her because I wasn’t stupid. Our conversations stretched over a broad variety of topics—large and small, complicated and simple—but I hadn’t missed how she avoided any mention of high school.

Thermodynamics!

She carried on talking, and when she asked what I thought, I replied the best I could. It might have been easier to sound intelligent if she wasn’t distracting me. The action seemed innocent, and I bet she didn’t realize what she was doing. But her lips wrapped around the straw and her cheeks hollowed as she sucked the liquid into her mouth. Red—no—pink. Whatever color she wore on her lips, I wanted to smudge it. I wanted to ruin her lipstick, not her mascara.

Her tongue peeked out, toying with the top of the straw for a moment.

“And I—” I swallowed. Locked on her lips, I totally lost train of what I was saying. All thoughts fled. “I, uh…”

Then she smiled. Slowly. Sexily.

Dammit. She knew what she was doing, taunting me.

I almost wanted to feel ashamed she’d caught me staring, but fuck it. I didn’t care.

I smiled and rubbed my jaw.

This edge she had? It was new. And I liked it.

“Fuck. I don’t know what I was saying.”