Page 40 of Slow Burn

“Thank you for dinner, but a free meal won’t make me take it easy on you,” she teased as she grabbed her purse from the seat. Dane got out of the booth and held out his hand for her to grab. She slipped her hand into his, and they walked to the game area.

Dane froze, which stopped Georgia.

“Sloane,” he whispered as he stared toward the bar.

Georgia was going to ask her friends how normal it was for a man to bring up his best friend of the opposite sex when he’s on a date. It was getting a little extreme at this point.

Dane glanced down at Georgia. “Sloane’s here. Do you care if we go say hello?”

“Sure!” She agreed, though she had a feeling this was a sign her date was over.

FOR THE PAST thirty minutes, Elijah did his best not to stare at the gaming area where Georgia, unfortunately, was having a great time with Sloane’s friend. Georgia had been cheerful the entire time, and he’s been hating every second of it.

Thank fuck, the guy finally saw Sloane, and now they were making a beeline over to the bar where they were sitting. Nash and Benny were entertaining a group of women at the opposite end of the bar. Nash was scared his sister was going to lose it when she saw him, so as soon as the ladies showed up, he deserted them, dragging Benny along.

Sloane’s knee bumped into his. “Dane and George coming over,” she said lowly.

“I can see that. And you don’t need to whisper.”

“Was this a bad idea?”

Elijah turned in his barstool and locked eyes with Georgia as they were still a few feet away. “If it was, it’s too late to leave. They already saw us.”

Dane dropped Georgia’s hand and stood next to Sloane. “You were right, this place is great.”

Sloane twisted in her chair to be closer to Dane, and they dove into conversation as if Georgia and Elijah weren’t there.

Grumpily, Georgia sat on the other side of Elijah in a huff, slapping her purse on the bar.

Elijah swirled his seat back around, so he was facing the bar like her. The bartender came over, and she ordered a Coke.

“Not drinking tonight?” Elijah asked while she scooted her spot a few inches away from him.

“Believe it or not, but I don’t normally drink every time I go out.” She was stern with her response, not giving him a crumble of attention.

Elijah wasn’t having any of that.

He grabbed under her stool and pulled her closer to him.

“Hey!” She shouted but was barely heard over the noise of the bar filtering around them. The bartender brought her drink, and she gave him a weak thank you when she offered to pay, but he said it was on the house.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Elijah watched her as she maintained zero eye contact with him. It was driving him crazy.

“Why are you acting like a brat?” Elijah taunted her. He loved getting under her skin and eliciting a reaction from her.

She whipped her head around to stare at him. “I was on a date, and somehow, you managed to ruin it. Again.”

“What does your date have to do with me?”

She sipped her drink for a caffeine fix. “That is none of your business.”

“It is when you are blaming me.”

She had every right to do. His sole intention was to ruin her date.

Georgia crossed her arms, which only made her breasts perk up in the V-neck shirt she was wearing. Fuck, her body was sinful.

“I didn’t get to play any games,” she told him, but he could tell it was hiding another truth. A truth he was determined to get.