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I probably shouldn’t admit that, but at this point I’ll ride this train until it crashes and burns. I might as well satisfy my curiosity about this kink we’ve discovered.
“I’m not sure.” Her voice is quiet. Pensive. “I guess because everyone else does it to shelter me, and you do it to expand my horizons. Besides, you always say how I’m really the one in charge, so I always feel like I have the option to say no.”
“You do,” I agree, trailing my fingers over her bare arm. “I may like telling you what to do, but I’d never force you.”
“I know. Now, you tell me something.” My fingers stop their path. “Why did you really show up tonight?”
“I told you,” I grit. “You’d be wasting your time going out with Andrew.”
“You didn’t have to hide in the bushes to tell me that.”
“I couldn’t exactly stand on your front porch in plain sight, either.” I slide my arm out from underneath her and go in search of my clothes.
“It’s not like there’s a neighborhood watch scoping out my doorstep.” She sits up and holds out a hand, a silent request for her shirt. I spot it on the floor and toss it to her then shrug on my own.
“You never know in this town.”
“If you’re so concerned, how do you plan on getting out of here?”
“There’s a window right there.” I jerk my head in the direction of the window next to her bed.
She crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Is this the standard protocol for booty calls? Sneak in, get your rocks off, sneak out and pretend it never happened?”
“I…” I pause in the act of buttoning my jeans, noting the wounded look in her eyes. “Shit. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Her gaze falls to her lap. “Please spare me the wholeI couldn’t help myselfspeech.”
I take a seat on the edge of the bed, bracing my arms on my knees. “What do you want me to say?”
“You could stop denying that you want this. Me?” She blinks up at me from under thick lashes.
“I’m not denying it.” I shake my head slowly. “I’m trying to spare you the consequences of my actions.”
“They’re my actions, too,” she says softly.
“That makes it even worse. You think people are protective of you now? If they knew about this, they’d be ten times more overbearing. I’d rather not put you through that.” I fold my hands together, cracking my knuckles in the process.
“You’re that worried about Cade’s disapproval?”
“It’s not just Cade. It’s everyone. They’d all question your judgment and take it upon themselves to keep a closer eye on you. And while we both know they mean well, we also know they'll end up smothering you. It’d be worse than settling for Andrew.” I hate to admit that, but it’s another truth we’re both well aware of.
“So, you want me to go out with him?” She arches a delicate brow.
I swing my head in her direction, scowling. “Fuck no.”
“Okay. It’s settled then.”
“What’s settled?” I grunt.
“I told you before that I'm doing whatIwant, and I don’t want to stop this. I like it. I think you do, too. So, we won’t.”
Scrubbing a hand over my face I give a resigned sigh.Definitely going to Hell.“No one can know about it. It would destroy Cade, and your parents, not to mention Lennon and…pretty much everyone. Is that what you really want? To be my secret hookup?”
“We’d be each other’s secret, right?” I can’t tell if she’s saying that to make this sound better or because she likes the idea of sneaking around.
“We would.” I exhale heavily. “What’ll you do about Andrew?”
She worries her lip between her teeth. “I’ll tell them I want to focus on work. Not bartending,” she cuts me off before I can say anything, “the business we talked about at the cabin. I think I want to do that. You can still help me with it, right?”
