“Wow,” Amber snickers, applauding me as the door slams shut. “I loved that.”
“I’m not putting up with being called a bitch, especially not by a drunk old man who thinks I work to serve him beer all day,” I huff, wiping my clammy hands on my apron. I’m riled up, and Nathan can clearly tell.
Are you okay?he mouths at me, and I roll my eyes and bob my head up and down.
The way he’d stood up for me—he’d seen red, and watching him that protective of me did weird things to my stomach. The warmth in my cheeks is betraying me.
He still looks incredibly ticked off, his jaw popping as he intertwines his fingers. Leaning his elbows against the bar counter, he takes a deep breath, and though Evan and Poppy act oblivious to his reaction, I know they can see how the altercation has affected him.
“Mae, do you mind changing the Sprite keg in the basement? The syrup’s run out,” Amber asks me. “Be careful. It’s heavy.”
“Sure. I got it.” I need the escape, and I take a breather once down in the dimly lit basement, the cold air making my nipples harden against the cropped dark green T-shirt I’m wearing. My upper lip is no longer sweating, and I lean against the frosty wall. “Fuck my life.”
“You sure do have a potty mouth for someone who looks so sweet on the outside.” The voice makes me turn, and a small gasp escapes when I see Nathan standing at the entrance to the basement. He turns his cap backwards so I can see his face. “Only me, princess. No need to scream.” The corner of his lip quirks up. “Unless you want to.”
I scowl at him. He’s getting braver. “What are you doing down here?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay. And Amber said you might need help changing the keg.”
I’ve been shown how to do it once before, but I can’t lie and say I remember how to do it step by step.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for sticking up for me. You didn’t have to.”
He’s wearing a hoodie today, almost as green as his eyes. I like it, and I have a sudden urge to steal it. As women, I’m pretty sure stealing men’s hoodies and claiming they’re ours has become instinct at this point.
Nathan cocks his head. “You handled Jack well.”
“I know how to stick up for myself. I’m an independent woman.” I wince. I know it doesn’t look like it when it comes to my mother, but she’s the only person I let get away with treating me like crap. I’d love to call her out on her shitty treatment, but we need something from each other right now, and I refuse to stoop down to her level and join in with the toxicity she brings to the table.
I move over to the stack of kegs, grab the Sprite from its pile, and roll it towards the pipe the old keg is hooked up to. My biceps complain, and my eyebrows scrunch up.
Nathan’s eyes twinkle as he chuckles. “I can see that.”
“Did you come down here just to laugh at me?” My tone is semi-playful, but I side-eye him.
“No,” is his response as he lifts the keg off the ground and carries it over to its tap, dropping it down as if it weighs nothing. His arms ripple, and I give my eyes permission to check him out.
I find lengths of muscle. There’s such raw power in his frame. That night in his bed…fuck. It’s all I’ve been thinking about.He’sall I’ve been thinking about. I so wish I’d had the confidence at the time to reach for him. Touch him. Pleasure him.
“Thank you,” I say, gesturing to the keg.
There’s a brief pause, but then Nathan steps around the keg, boots thundering against the concrete. His forehead creases as he looks at me, eyes so scorching I feel like I’m burning alive. “Do you know how easy it would be for me to kiss you right now?”
My heart stops, shock coursing through me like an electrical current. The comment ignites a hurricane of emotions inside me, and I attempt to swallow the lump in my throat but fail miserably.
“Nobody would know. Nobody would see,” he continues, his finger finding my chin.
My entire body is tingling. My skin is on fire, and Nathan is the only element that can put it out. I need his lips on mine. His hands on me. I’m just as bad as the horny football fans that want him. But I want therealhim. TherealNathan Slater. Not the cocky heartthrob they see on TV.
I force my face to deadpan him, though. “Who says I want that?”
“Don’t pretend you look at everyone the same way you look at me, princess.” The corner of Nathan’s lips curl.
“Look at you, how?”
“Like you want me to fuck you.”
Oh shit. My body is working on autopilot.
