“I didn’t want to take my shitty day out on you.”
She grabs a napkin from the counter and wipes her mouth. “Okay.”
I’m not sure what that single word means. Is she over it? Still upset? If it didn’t bother her at all, she wouldn’t seem a tad standoffish, would she?
She tosses her pizza crust into the trash then trails across the kitchen until she’s in front of me. She tilts her head back slightly and stares. Like her friends in the living room, but different at the same time.
I can see the tiny specks of tawny-brown in her almond eyes. Like flecks off a paintbrush. She’s alluring as hell, even with that salty sweet aroma that comes off her in waves. I wonder how much time she spent in the gym.
How much of a sweat did she work up? How good would she taste if I closed the space between us, lowered my mouth to her neck, and sucked her skin into my mouth?
“The next time I offer you help, are you going to take it?” she asks.
Probably not.
“Maybe.”
“Liar.” It’s a whisper on her lips and has me looking down at them. “You don’t like accepting help from people.”
My gaze moves back to her eyes. “You’ve noticed that, huh?”
“A tiny bit.” She nods towards the living room. “What are you doing here? They’re all studying, but the grapevine says you don’t attend Chatham U, and I haven’t seen you around.”
Ah, the grapevine.
That means people have been talking.
“Sebastian practically grabbed me by my scruff and dragged me here.”
I’m only kidding, but the impish grin that she gives makes it that much sweeter. “I have a hard time imagining that, especially when you’re the one who claimed he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
I roll my lips into my mouth to prevent the smile that wants to stretch them because damn, she’s not wrong. I did say that which means she just caught me bluffing. Even if it was done whole-heartedly and at the expense of myself, it makes me realize that she’s smarter than meets the eye. She’s observant, and I’m not sure if that’s good or really goddamn bad.
“Okay, he might not have grabbed me by the scruff, but I came reluctantly.”
“Why’s that?” She takes a step back and licks the taste of pizza off her soft lips. “Don’t like making friends?”
I shrug. “Things are less complicated without them.”
“That’s one way to look at it, I guess.”
“Besides, I’ve been getting death glares the entire time I’ve been here.”
“Everleigh is sweet. Sylvia can be…laborious,” she explains, an exasperated laugh coming from her.
Yeah, no kidding.
“And what about you?”
How can you be?
Her gaze drops and she shakes her head. “I’m neither here nor there.”
Find that hard to believe.
I soak in the meaning of those words, hesitating with what I should say next. “Is that all you’re going to give me?”
She smirks. “A friend would get a lot more, but seeing as how you’re so against them…”
