“I know. You were here last Wednesday.” His voice just dropped an octave, I swear.
“I… uh, yes, I was.”
“You’ve also been here a number of times with a man.”
I respond before she can. “Her ex. He cheated on her. Can you believe that?”
“No.” Luke looks at her for a good long time. “He’s a fucking idiot.”
“Right?” I say, then laugh. Neither of them is listening to me. As a matter of fact, Luke’s now leaning over the bar so far that if Tayler leaned in, they’d be kissing. “Welp, I guess I’ll move along.” I laugh again as I head off to help another customer. Peeking back at them, I see they’re now talking.
Damn, matchmaking is fun.
* * *
Surprisingly,Luke lets me leave early. He must have been grateful to me for the Tayler introduction or something. She left not long after they met. Knowing Tayler as long as I have, I suspect she wanted to leave him wanting more. Not only that, she’d want him to make the next move. Clever girl. Now we’ll have to wait and see.
The party is still going strong when I grab my sweatshirt and purse. I catch Cooke’s attention and point at the door. As he follows me, the rugby guys slap him on the back, sad to see him go.
“You’re all done, then?” he asks, taking my hand in his. It feels very natural to hold hands with Cooke Thompson. I should probably be wary of any feelings I have for this man, though.
“Luke let me leave early.”
“What shall we do now? The night is young.”
It’s just past ten on a school night, but I’m not about to say a word about it being late. “We could….” I shrug. “What would you like to do?”
“First, I want to see where you live. I’m feeling peckish, so after that, a bite would be lovely.”
“Peckish?”
“Yes, I’m hungry.”
I could make him some ramen, but I’m afraid to bring it up. “Oh, okay.”
Cooke leads me down the street to a sleek black sports car.
“Nice ride.”
“Aye. I’ve had a bloody time of it trying to drive on the wrong side of the roadandsit on the opposite side of the car.”
“I could drive.”Oh, please let me drive.I’ve never driven anything remotely as fancy as this thing is.
“Be my guest.” He holds the driver’s side door open for me. When I sit down, I practically fall backward, he’s got the seat so far back. As I adjust it, Cooke walks around the car and slides into the passenger side. Once I’m set, I search for the key slot.
“Press the button,” he explains.
“Ooh, this is cool,” I say, admiring all the leather and faux wood details. There are so many buttons, lights, and other gadgets in this thing, I’m tempted to play for a few minutes before taking off, but he’s “peckish,” so we need to get a move on.
I’ve got the uncontrollable urge to put the pedal to the metal on the main road, but I don’t need a ticket. Too bad.
Before we know it, we’re at my house. It’s not perfect or even pretty, but it’s a solid house with lots of room for us. Pushing the shifter into Park, I smile, then turn to look at Cooke. “This is a sweet-ass ride.”
It must have been a funny thing to say, because Cooke bursts with laughter. “It is indeed, love.” Taking my hand in his, he lifts it to his lips and kisses the top of it. I felt it through my entire body. It practically singed my skin, it was so electrifying. I’m staring at his face—well, his mouth, as it still sits about an inch from my hand. He slowly releases it and I sigh, wishing he’d do that again, but this time on my face in general, my mouth in particular. But that’s never going to happen.
Reaching for the door handle, I find it and tug until it clicks. Then I push the door open. “Come on, I’ll show you my subterranean slumber chamber.”
He chuckles as he steps out of his side of the car. “Spiders included.”
