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“Well, you rugged up, so I won’t need to offer you my jacket. I’m already walking you down to the lake – so, your safety’s all good. If you’re not careful, you’ll be a completely independent young woman.”
I scoffed and kept walking towards the lake, meaning he had to follow. “Gosh. Wouldn’t want that, would we?”
“How would Carter come swooping in to save you if you were all independent?”
I looked back at him for a moment as I picked my way over tree roots. “I don’t need anyone swooping in to save me, thank you.”
“Well, I’m all right with that. But, I highly doubt that he knows how to be anything but the chivalrous white knight.”
“No one would ever confuse you for the chivalrous anything, Lombardi,” I laughed. “Don’t worry.”
“I am very chivalrous in bed, thank you. I’m all about giving. I’m very gallant. Some have even called me a romantic.”
“Had they been dropped on their heads as children?”
He didn’t say anything, but I heard him clap. I stopped and turned to him with a wry smile.
“What?” I asked.
He gave me a bow, his arms thrown wide. “No stutter. Quick retort. Why Barlow, I think I’ve ruined you.”
“Yeah, you wish,” I snorted.
“No, that would be ravage. Totally different.”
I stumbled on something on the ground, but he was there to catch me. We looked at each other for a moment, our noses close. My heart beat a little faster in anticipation, but he didn’t make any moves.
“How do you just come out and say things like that?” I asked.
His eyes darted between mine. “I don’t know, I just do. Some call it confidence, some call it arrogance, others call me dirty–”
“Yes, I’ll bet a lot of people call you dirty and it’s not always an insult.”
He threw a split-second grin at me and my chest went all fluttery again. Then, he pulled us both to standing straight and let go of me, starting to move toward the lake again.
“Others call me passionate.”
“I’ll bet they’re the same ones who think dirty is a compliment,” I answered as I followed him, my eyes on the dark ground. “Passion. Dirt. I suppose it’s all the same to you really.”
I gasped as I ran into him and found him looking down at me. I would have said his eyes held a hint of humour, but it was just a little dark where we were standing.
“There’s nothing dirty about passion, Piper. Nothing wrong with acting on mutual attraction. Passion and attraction isn’t something you can help. It happens whether you want it to or not. You get to decide what you do with it, not anyone else.”
To take my mind off the way he made my heart race, I argued, “And, what about all the girls you leave behind? What happens when you’re out of passion for them?”
He shrugged. “How many girls do you hear wanting more from me, Barlow?”
“Every single one you’ve been with.”
He blinked like that actually surprised him. But, I couldn’t tell if it was me or the statement he was surprised by.
“Come on, don’t pretend you have no idea. Don’t tell me you thought you had your fun with them then they wandered off into the sunset completely fine.”
“I wouldn’t pretend anything of the sort. I just didn’t expect you to be keeping tabs on my sex life.”
Feeling annoyed and not knowing why, I shoved past him and kept walking. “It’s a little hard not to keep tabs on your sex life when that’s the majority of the gossip at school.”
“Oh Barlow, anyone would think you cared!” he teased.
