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Reluctantly, I hung up and snatched my handbag from the glass table. My head was screaming to run out the door like my ass was on fire and get to Aspen before something really bad happened.
But something held me back for a second.
Drake.
A guy I’d just met but who had my head and body doing weird flippy things, one arguing with the other about whether there was time for one more kiss. Maybe a few seconds to scrawl my number across the back of a receipt.
Thankfully, it was a decision I didn’t have to make because when I turned to the door, wondering if I should take my head’s advice and run, Drake was already there.
He held it open, dressed in a black hoodie and some gray track pants that almost made me groan out loud. His long hair was a hot mess, but I kind of loved it. It made me want to drag my fingers through it and pull it back from his face.
Only, there was no time.
“I’ve got to—”
“I heard,” he cut in, his voice hard. “I’m coming with you.”
I shook my head as I lifted my bag over it so the strap would fall across my body. “You don’t have to. I can handle it.”
His hand pressed to my back, firmly guiding me out the door before falling into step beside me as we made our way down the short hall to the elevator. “I don’t doubt that at all,” he said, pressing the button for the ground floor. “But I’ve got a car and a driver downstairs who knows every inch of this city. Which is going to save you a lot of time trying to google pool halls within ten miles called ‘something balls.’”
I could argue.
I was good at it.
But he was right.
And rather than tell him that, I simply waited for the elevator to ding and stepped inside, a deep burn rushing straight to my cheeks the second I looked out the large elevator window. I turned back toward the doors, shaking my head, trying to ignore Drake who let out a soft laugh under his breath and turned to join me.
I couldn’t stop the way my body leaned into his, not even if I wanted to. I was pulled that way, a magnetism so new and exciting but also scary as hell. It was also my subtle way of saying thank you.
I knew sometimes I could let my emotions make my decisions for me. I was so much stronger than I was a few years ago and intended on using that strength to never go back to being that woman. Though, I knew my impulsiveness could get me into trouble, especially when it came to protecting the people I loved.
Drake’s calm, slow, logical energy was a nice change of pace.
I liked it.
A lot.
“Wait, you have a driver?”
DRAKE
“Are you staying in the penthouse?”
I urged Cassidy out of the elevator with my palm on the small of her back, directing her past the front desk and toward the exit, ignoring the way she looked up at me with a frown. I could feel how she was trying to piece me together, trying to figure me out.
She’d need a lot more than a drink, some pizza, and an orgasm.
“I am,” I answered, the crisp night air hitting my face as we stepped outside.
I called Simon the moment I heard the worry in her voice and told him to meet me outside, and much to his credit, he was already parked at the curb, holding the door open for us.
“Simon, this is Cassidy,” I introduced as we climbed into the back of the SUV.
Simon dipped his head and grinned as she slipped by him. “Nice to meet you!”
“You too,” Cassidy responded, but there was a definite unease to her tone. The girl I’d met earlier, free-spirited and a little wild, was suddenly pulling back and eyeing me out of the corner of her eye.
