Dangerous, a small voice in my head screamed, but I shoved it aside.
I pulled the screen door open, ignoring the unmistakable feeling of his hot gaze boring into my back. “Yeah, only a weirdo would sneak into my house to take care of squeaky metal goods without telling me.”
Kai chuckled, and the deep rumble of his laughter made my pussy clench involuntarily as I crossed the threshold. “Definitely a weirdo,” he called after me. “See you around, Tori.”
I shook my head and let the screen door fall shut. When I chanced another peek outside, Kai was still sitting there, barefoot and irritatingly at ease. I hated how it was starting to feel right.
I told myself it was just the forced proximity. Or residual tension.
This thing had a firm expiration date.
And yet, I already knew for sure I was going to make him that damn pavlova.
I was a sucker.
Chapter 8
Kai
Withahuff,Istared up at the ceiling, watching the fan endlessly continue its lazy circles. I’d rolled over in bed for the umpteenth time, pretending I hadn’t just been in this exact position, waiting for the ceiling to magically reveal what the hell I was supposed to do with myself.
I blamed the impending doom of the decision for the final roster of the team drawing closer, much faster than I would have liked.
I blamed the memory of her petite, tight body under mine.
I blamed the way she’d sounded when I had my tongue buried between her cheeks.
Or the way her mouth had curved when she tried not to smile at me and failed — the image was stuck in my head like a burr.
Whatever the reason, sleep wasn’t happening, and she wasn’t leaving my mind anytime soon.
So, naturally, like a complete idiot in an early-2000s teen movie, I found myself sneaking across the yard at midnight, dodging the loose board on our porch like I wasn’t a grown adult.
A soft breeze carried the smell of cut grass and summer sweat, and I jumped as the AC unit kicked in with a whirr. I cast a furtive look around to make sure no one had seen me jump as though I were five seconds away from having an out-of-body experience.
With my hands planted on my hips, I stared up at her window.
“Mate,” I muttered under my breath, “you are not actually doing this.”
But I was already bending down, my hand closing around a pebble, despite being painfully aware of how cliché it was.
The first pebble pinged off the window frame. For a moment, I waited with bated breath, but when nothing happened, I bent down again.
I tossed another one, a little harder, and this time it hit its mark.
Still nothing. Maybe this was a sign from the universe? Should I just go back home?
But then the sound of the window creaking open had me staring at it with mounting horror.
This wasn’t her window, it was Janet’s.Fuck my life.
The old bat stuck her head out, wearing curlers and one of those billowing vintage-style robes with fur trimmings. She squinted down at me like I was interrupting something of profound importance.
“Oh,” she stage-whispered, raising her eyebrows. “It’s you.”
I froze. “Hi?”
Janet pursed her lips. “You’re throwing rocks at the wrong window, dear. Tori’s is the one on the left. You’ve got terrible aim.”
