“The arrogant one, of course.” I scoffed at her. “I’m not always a jackass.”
“Well, it’s kind of hard to tell. Don’t you think?”
A smile finally tugged at her lips but she stopped it by placing her glass to them and taking a sip of her drink.
“He only likes to come around when there are gorgeous women in his presence.”
“I’m sureallthe ladies love to hear that.” Her eye roll matched Max’s and you could tell exactly how they were related in the no nonsense attitude both of them had.
“I’ve not needed to bring that side of me out for a long time, Melanie.” I looked her dead in the eyes as I watched hers search mine. I had no idea what she was looking for but I hope she’d find it in me.
“You’re a smooth talker, you know that?”
“I’ve been told that a time or two.”
I took a chance and leaned in closer to her. She didn’t move but sat her drink down beside mine and rested her arm along the bar. It was still a barrier but she wasn’t stopping me from invading her space.
“What are you trying to get at Jack?”
“I’m not trying to get at anything. I’m just trying to show you the real me.”
I placed my hand over hers. Her skin felt soft against my fingers as they danced across the top of her hand and down her fingers. A visible shiver racked through her body but she didn’t pull away. Instead, when I looked back to her, she was staring directly at me.
“The real you seems a lot more dangerous.” Her tongue poked out when she talked, wetting her bottom lip.
“How so?” I couldn’t hide anymore how she affected me as my voice came out hoarse.
Her eyes moved from my mouth, to our hands, and then back to my eyes. The way they stared back at me had me wanting to look in them forever. For once there wasn’t disgust or hate in them but curiosity and desire lingering in her deep brown eyes.
“The arrogant you I could walk away from,” Melanie pulled her hand away from mine and reached for her drink, tossing back the last of what was in her glass. When she placed hers on the counter, I expected her to continue but she grabbed for my glass, finishing off the last of that as well. “but this you…”
She set my glass down and gestured toward me with her hand. I hadn’t moved out of her space, so her fingers brushed against my shirt, barely touching my chest. When they did, her hand stopped and lingered there for a moment, before she pulled it away.
I leaned in closer to her, her breath becoming shallow as the air rushed from her mouth against my face. I could smell the light mix of Vodka and Whiskey coming from her and it enticed me. Would that be what we smelled like when I had her wrapped in my arms in bed?
“This you can break hearts.”
“I made a promise.”
“A promise for what?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I promised your brother to never break your heart.”
She took the bold move this time, placing her hand over my heart.
“I don’t care what promises you made to my brother, Jack. You could break my heart.”
“That’s not something I’d do though, love.”
The nickname rolled off my lips, like I’d been saying it my whole life.
“I know this, but Jack…” She placed her other hand on my thigh and I looked down to where she was voluntarily touching me in two places. It was like I’d died and gone to heaven but that was short lived.
“… I’d let you.”
Melanie pulled away from me and jumped off of the bar stool. I panicked for only a second before I followed after her onto the dance floor and grabbed her wrist. She turned around, a look I didn’t recognize on her face. I couldn’t tell if it was longing or agony or maybe even both.
Melanie was telling me that she’d let me break her heart. That she would let me into her life but at the same time was running away from me.
