Page 24 of Falling for the Playboy Pilot

“Only because I had to.”

Janna was pretty, though. Sexy. And mouthy. She wasn’t going to throw herself at me like the bimbo earlier. She was a challenge and I liked a good challenge. If I really wanted to, I could have her begging me to fuck her, to make that body all mine.

But would that ever be enough for her? For me, it was never about romance. Never about some fairy tale forever. It was all about the heat and friction and sweat and release. Get in, get out, get on with it.

Maybe I was misjudging her. Maybe she was looking for a quick fuck. That charged moment in the simulator room had certainly hinted at desire.

“Fine, let’s go say hi,” I said after finishing my burger and most of my second beer.

Pickle gave me a side-eye. “Oh, really? I thought you weren’t interested?”

“Feel free to stay here. I’ll just go have a nice conversation with Laser without you.” I grinned at him.

He opened his mouth like he might argue but quickly snapped it shut. That’s what I thought. He liked her. “Lead the way.”

Janna looked up as we reached the table. Her eyes narrowed immediately. I saw her stiffen like she was afraid I was going to say something terrible.

“I come in peace,” I said.

Laser looked at Pickle and offered a smile. “Sit down,” she said.

I pulled one of the chairs out, sat, and took one of the onion rings.

Janna glared at me. “Did you just eat?”

“I did. Don’t act like you two are actually going to finish all of this.”

“Why? Because we’re women?” Janna challenged.

She really didn’t like me. And that was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

“No,” I said, leaning back in my chair and meeting her glare head on. “Because even I couldn’t finish this much food, and I’ve been known to eat my weight in burgers. You two are ambitious, I’ll give you that.”

Laser laughed, shaking her head. “He’s not wrong. We might’ve overdone it. We were hungry and it all looked good.”

Janna didn’t seem amused, and as if to prove a point, she snatched one of the few remaining onion rings. I watched as she tore it in half and dipped it in the sauce. “So, what brings you over here? Come to critique my eating habits too?”

I couldn’t hide my smirk. “Well, if you want to know, I’d go for the ranch instead of that dipping sauce.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course, you would have an opinion.”

Pickle chuckled, grabbing a nacho from the pile. “Careful, Herc, I have a feeling she’s still a little pissed at you for trying to kill Tyson.”

Janna looked at Pickle like she was just seeing him for the first time.

“This is Pickle,” Laser said by way of introduction.

Janna looked at Pickle and offered him a friendly smile, something I had not been blessed with.

“Pickle?” Janna said. “I’m afraid to ask how you got that name.”

Poor Pickle. He sighed and shook his head. The story was funny but he was a little embarrassed. “I ate a pickle on my first day.”

Janna blinked and then looked at Laser, then me. “That’s it?”

“Yup. I don’t even like pickles. I just took it when someone offered it. I mean, pickles on my burgers are fine, but I don’t just walk around eating pickles.”

Janna’s face lit up with a laugh, and fuck me, she was beautiful. She took a drink of her beer and made a show of wiping her mouth. We were all watching her because, shit, it was impossible to look away. Did she know how alluring she was? It all looked so natural.