Page 29 of Pick Me This Time

I chuckled. “I didn’t mean to give you one-word answers before. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. Just tell me about it now. Is it as glitzy and glamorous as people say? Do you live in a fancy penthouse apartment? Do you go to all the hot clubs at night and sip French champagne with celebrities in VIP rooms?”

Taken aback, I laughed, shaking my head as I glanced at her again. “No drinking with celebrities on a regular basis, and I don’t like champagne, but yes on the penthouse and the clubs. As for the glitz and glamour, I’m not actually sure that it’s all it’s cracked up to be.”

She let out a sigh. “So just tell me then, or are you going to make me pull it out of you?”

“I’m not trying to be difficult,” I said. “I just don’t have that much to say about it. I’m a slave for work. I go home alone. I wake up alone. I go back to work. I go out with my coworkers sometimes, and that’s about it. Oh, and I go to the gym and I run.”

She arched an eyebrow when she turned her head to look at me. “You go home alone, huh? Somehow, I find that hard to believe. Not the waking up alone bit so much, but the going home alone? I’m not buying that.”

I nearly choked on my spit. “Are you really asking about my sex life right now?”

She held my gaze, her cheeks flushing under the silver light of the moon but her eyes unwavering on mine. “I’m curious.”

I groaned, scrubbing my palms over my jaw and kicking my ankle over my knee so she hopefully wouldn’t see the bulge in my pants. I couldn’t help it. Innocent little Daphne LaSalle was talking to me about sex. The hard-on wasn’t my fault.

“Fine. I don’t always go home alone. Most nights, I do, but not always, and that’s all I’m saying about it.” I gave her a stern look and she smirked at me in response.

“Sure, okay. Be shy about it. That’s alright.”

I scoffed. “Trust me, I’m not shy about it. I’m just not discussing it with you, but since you’re so curious, did you really date Peter?”

Her eyes widened and her tongue swept across her lips, completely quiet for a beat. I wasn’t even sure if she was breathing until she finally gave me a tight nod. “Yeah, I did. Unfortunately. It didn’t end well.”

I would’ve killed for more details, but I didn’t ask for them. Her reaction to the mere mention of his name told me it was bad, and I didn’t want to scratch open old wounds simply because I was curious.

“What about you?” she asked. “Last I heard, Fiona was planning on marrying you after college. Obviously, that didn’t happen.”

I snorted, chuckling dryly as I looked out at the moonlight reflecting on the water. “That was never going to happen, but she broke up with me just a couple months after we left here anyway. It turns out going to a different college than the guy you were dating in high school isn’t as romantic as she used to make it sound.”

“So what happened?”

“She met some hotshot hockey player on her campus and dumped me for him.”

Daphne winced. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I said. “I never loved her. She didn’t love me either. It just took her some time to realize she was never going to.”

“I really thought you two were going to get married one day,” she said after pausing for a beat. “You were, like, this power couple that everyone thought was perfect for each other.”

That made me laugh. When I saw the look she was giving me, I shook my head. “Nope. Not perfect at all. Far from it, actually, but hey, that’s ancient history.”

“I suppose,” she said, falling quiet again before finally releasing a heavy sigh. “I should probably go back inside now.”

“Yeah, it’s getting late,” I said, standing up first and then offering her my hand.

She looked at it for a beat, and when she took it, my entire being itched to pull her into me. I managed not to, but I did let my touch linger on her soft hand for longer than I’d meant to. She dipped her head back, looking right into my eyes, and just like it had that night of the party, something deep inside urged me to kiss her.

It was like she had this forcefield about her, and whenever I got too close, it threatened to suck me in. This time, I even dropped my gaze to her plush, naturally pink lips.

What is wrong with me?

I let go of her hand immediately and took a big step back. Then I slid my hands into my pockets before inclining my head for her to go ahead. “I’ll see you in the morning, Daph.”

“Good night,” she said, sounding a little breathless.

As she walked away from me this time, I did look at her ass. Long and hard.

Until she suddenly glanced at me over her shoulder. “Sleep well on your hammock, North Star. Are you sure you don’t want to chaperone the dance with me? I haven’t given my mom an answer yet, so think about it and let me know in the morning.”

Honestly, I did kind of want to chaperone the dance with her. I suddenly wanted to do a lot of things with Daphne LaSalle. All of the things. But as I settled back down on my hammock under the stars, I reminded myself for the umpteenth time of who she was.

Plus, if it was just Eric I had to worry about, then maybe I’d have gone for it anyway. But Daphne wasn’t the kind of girl I’d ever just screw and leave, and I was leaving. In a few more weeks, I’d be leaving Allisburg again, and once I did, I had absolutely no idea if or when I would be back.