I jut out my chin. “Oh, yes, I can.” I level a glare. “You have a girlfriend.” Truth be known, I’m madder at myself than I am at him.
He swallows. “I know.”
I hurl out the words. “I’m not that kind of girl. I don’t go around kissing other people’s boyfriends.”
A ghost of a smile passes over his lips. “Good to know.” He rubs his arms and glances around. “It’s freezing out here. Let’s go back inside and talk.”
“I don’t think so.” I have to be sensible here and put my head in charge.
“Please, just hear me out.”
Indecision pulls at me.
He gives me a puppy-dog look. “Please,” he says again. “You’re shivering.”
“Because it’s frigid out here.” People often mistake the South for being warm in the winter. Not true. The humidity makes the cold even more brutal.
He matches my tone. “That’s why we need to go inside.”
My shoulders sag. “Okay.”
I allow him to lead me back inside. The second the door’s closed, I whirl around to face him. “Talk,” I order.
“Okay, but first, let’s order a pizza.” He touches his stomach, throwing me a boyish grin. “I’m starving.”
My hands go into the air. “You’re impossible.”
“Once we get some food in our system, we’ll talk.”
Axel is the king of persistence, that’s for sure. I roll my eyes. “Fine.”
Chapter
Eight
“See?”Axel leans back in his chair, regarding me with a teasing glint. “Don’t you feel better?”
I push my empty plate away and sink back into my seat. “A little.”
He smirks. “Told you.”
I toss him a sharp look. “A couple slices of pizza won’t fix this situation.” My chest tightens as reality rushes back. I can’t believe I was reckless enough to kiss Axel. And not just kiss him—thatkiss. It was a doozy.
I had wondered what it would be like. I have my answer now. And great, it’s going to live permanently in my memory. One more thing to haunt me about the guy I can’t seem to get over.
As if reading my thoughts, Axel grins. “Well … if you’re still tense, I could help you relax again. You know, we could go for round two. Maybe do a little more dancing. See what happens.”
For a second, I don’t process what he said. Then my brain registers. If there were a mirror in front of me, I’d see flames shooting from my eyes. “What did you just say to me?”
“You heard me,” he quips, not fazed in the least by my outburst.
“This is not funny.” I push back my chair with a scrape. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I am notgoing to be your little plaything. Whatever problems you and Zoe have … you need to work them out on your own.” I’m halfway to standing when he reaches for my arm.
“Hey. Take it easy. Let’s just talk.”
Something earnest flashes in his eyes, prompting me to sit back down. Yanking my arm from his grasp, I clamp both arms across my chest. “Talk.” It’s a good thing Consuela and Diego have already left. No one needs to witness this spectacle. Consuela already pities me enough as it is. I pin Axel with a hard look. “What’s the story with you and Zoe? Are y’all together or not?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “It’s … complicated.”
