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He looks at me then, and a rush of flutters takes hold in my tummy. His look isn’t anything special, but memories of last night flood my mind. Dancing with him, his hands on me, even in the most innocent of ways. His hand on the small of my back at the hotel. Him leaning close, talking to me. While I’m not entirely sure I remember what we talked about, I know we flirted, which is something we haven’t done since we first met.
“Not exactly. I roomed with my buddy Luke before moving in with the guys. Before that, I had college roommates. I’ve never actually lived alone.” He shrugs, his hands in his pockets as he stands in the middle of my apartment.
I check myself and realize we’re both just standing around. And my foggy brain reminds me that there’s a big comfy couch about twelve steps away.
“Do you want to sit?” I point to the couch.
He follows my gaze and says, “Sure.”
We both sit on opposite sides of the couch, and it’s so darn awkward.
“So, uh, how are you liking living with the guys?” I ask, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling of having him in my living room.
He chuckles.
“That much, huh?”
He shakes his head. “No, they’re fine. A bit on the messy side, but it’s all good. One of them is almost always gone, and if one is home, Gia or Ruby is normally there, and then they kinda stay in their room. I spend most of my time in my room, though.”
“Oh, well, that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.”
His shoulder lifts. “It’s fine. I work a lot, so it’s not all that much time. But it is why I’m here.”
“Really?”
“The guys aren’t home, and I was bored of my room.” He studies me. I try not to squirm. “Do you remember what you said to me last night?”
I gulp. “Not exactly.” My voice comes out in a pained croak.
The side of his mouth quirks up. “You were pretty wasted last night.”
“I will neither confirm nor deny.”
“You told everyone to call you Benny.” Laughter dances in his eyes.
“I may remember something like that. It’s a solid name.”
“Are you claiming it, then?” he challenges.
I pull the bottom of my lip between my teeth. His eyes zero in on the movement. “Possibly.”
“You also told me that if I want to have more fun with you, I know where you live.” He drags his eyes back up to mine as alarm spreads through my veins, and he smirks again. “You were fun and flirty last night, that’s all. But it made me realize that we don’t ever spend any time together. So here I am.”
My eyes narrow. “You want to spend time with me?”
“Yeah, why not?” he asks. I scrunch my nose, and he must notice my disdain. “Right?”
“No offense, but we don’t hang out because, well, we just don’t.”Because I like you, and you made it clear you don’t feel the same. Why would we hang out?
He leans forward, elbows on his knees. His words are slow. “We haven’t much in the past, but I don’t see why we can’t now. If you want.”
My head is swimming, and I don’t know what’s happening. Just then the timer on my oven beeps.
I rush to stand and go into the kitchen and take out the cookies. I have enough dough for another pan, so I busy myself removing the cookies from the pan to a plate. I’m using the time to avoid talking to Wade. But he followed me and is now standing on the other side of the bar, watching me. Well, actually, his eyes are on the cookies.
“I was wondering what that amazing smell is.”
I nod, sliding a cookie off the plate and lifting it toward him. He takes it gently. “It’s hot, obviously.”
