“Nah, we got it tonight. Go hang out with Charlie and Lizzie.” Three tables had their napkins resorted. Great.
“They’re doing their own things, but I kinda like the bar.”
I was about to growl. I couldn’t yell at him or it’d be obvious. I tried the Alex route. They’d help. I was sure. They’d see my manic smile and help me out. “He in the way for you if he stays?”
They pursed their lips, their eyes sparkling. “Not even a little bit. Is he inyourway, Barbie?”
“Nope.” I faced Cal, plastering on my best fake smile. The muscle in my jaw twitched, and my pulse raced, and my fingers tapped against my side. I couldn’t get it together. The damn guy would be the death of me with his protectiveness and love for Lizzie. “Guess you’re staying!” I shouted, the words coming out too fast.
He frowned at me, his lips that were once lifted in the best smile ever turning down hard. He looked like he wanted to say something, but I refused to go down that route. I had to get my own head on straight before engaging in any conversation with him.
A talk right now would end in a kiss. Or with me jumping on him. Or me confessing my huge, loud messy feelings for him that would complicate everything. I knew better than to think I was different than everyone else, and plus, he only did three-night stands, and I wanted forevers. We didn’t match, even though my heart and soul and body wanted him more than air. Fuck. I put a hand on my chest, forcing myself to calm down. Never in my life had I experiencedthisaggressive pull toward someone. It was terrifying.
Thankfully, there was a busier rush than we planned for, so we kept busy for three hours straight. I did my best to avoid Cal, but everywhere I went, he was there with his signature frown. Guilt ate at me because I’d put that expression on his face with my weirdness. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but I was already crashing headfirst into falling in love with him if he didn’t stop being… him. When I brought drinks to the tables, he was there picking up wrappers. On the way to the walk-in, he held the door for me.
It was too much!
By the time everything settled down, we cleaned up the bar and closed fast. The three of us had a good system at this point, everyone falling to their own roles to make the process faster.Charlie would have a hell of a time finding a better three people to run this place, that was for sure.
“Y’all good? I’m meeting up with some friends,” Alex said.
“You have them?” Cal quipped, earning a middle finger from Alex.
“Night, Barbie, havefun.”
They winked at me when they walked out, and my face heated. How dare they? Was I that obvious?
“Hey,” Cal said.
I grabbed my small bag and double-checked my phone was in my pocket. Nothing else to do besides talk to him for our one-minute walk. I was about to open my mouth when his soft fingers landed on my elbow. He gently spun me around, his eyes lowered in worry.
“Elle, please, you’re killing me. What’s wrong? Did I upset you?”
“What? No!” I swallowed, every particle in my body tuned into his damn fingers on my elbow. They were warm and rough and wonderful. Flames danced along my neck and face as he stared at me harder, clearly wanting an explanation to me being off.
“Did I say something wrong to Lizzie? I’ve replayed everything, and I don’t know how else I could’ve supported her. The shirt with my name might’ve been too much, but I wanted her to understand I had her back. I just—”
I couldn’t take it. Fuck all the reasons this was stupid. If I didn’t kiss him on the mouth, I would die. I was certain.
I cupped his face with my hands and stood on my tiptoes, and I finallyfuckingkissed him.
His lips were soft and cold, and he tasted like mint. He stood, frozen, and shame consumed me. How could I just do this without permission? He might not want to kiss me! I jumped back, horrified at my action. “Cal, I’m—”
He gripped the edge of my shirt and yanked me to him. Our chests slammed together, his one hand cupping the back of my head as the other came to my hips. He dug his nails into my scalp and skin, a deep loud growl coming from his chest. He tilted my head as he kissed me back, only he went harder. He slid his tongue into my mouth, picking me up and setting me on top of one of the tables. My skin was on fire.
Hot, passionate, sexy fire.
“Cal,” I moaned, gripping his broad shoulders as he sucked my tongue. Every sound he made was deep and erotic, and I was gonna die of horniness. He moved one hand to cover my throat, his thumb dipping into the base of it as he stared at me. His eyes were intense, burning with fire.
This was heaven. Him touching me and looking at me like that, like I mattered to him. His jaw tensed, and his chest heaved.
“Give me that mouth.”
Oh damn.
I leaned forward, kissing him again and sinking into him. He stood between my thighs, our bodies pressed together so there wasn’t an inch between us. He smelled like laundry and sweat, and I wanted to rub myself on him. I couldn’t get enough of his mouth, his large fingers exploring my neck and back, the heavy movement of his chest under my hand. He kissed like he played hockey, like his sole survival was determined from our kiss, and the intensity made me shiver.
I felt each stroke of his tongue down my body, my thighs clenching together at how much I wanted him. This was more than lust and longing—this was my soul aching to be his.
