“Have you seen the state of it, Andrea? It’s not worth losing a job over. Hell, it’s barely worth the three hundred I gave him. Now, get in.”
She pouts but says nothing as she sits down in the passenger seat. With a few taps on the screen between us, I set the GPS to her address, and we’re off.
The drive to her place is silent, and she doesn’t try to turn the radio on this time. It’s so tense and awkward that I realize I should have let Kev and Shelly take her home. They live ten minutes away from her place, and they wouldn’t have been tempted to gaze at her alluring profile every few seconds. And maybe she wouldn’t have looked so eager to get out of the car, as if being stuck in here with me is torture.
But when I stop in front of her building, she doesn’t rush outside like last time. So, I turn off the ignition and wait. We stay there for a few seconds, unsure how to break the silence.
She’s the one who does. “Thank you for the ride—again,” she says, keeping her eyes up front. “And thank you for making sure my car gets home. I’ll pay you back on Mond—”
“Don’t worry about it.”
For once, she doesn’t insist. “Sorry for drinking too much. I’m not used to servers topping up glasses all the time.”
“It’s fine.”
Still, she doesn’t exit the car, twisting her fingers on her lap, hesitating. I should tell her to go. I should tell her it’s late, I’m tired, and she needs to go. Staying here with her so close is harder than it should be. There’s no one in sight, and the utter silence makes me feel like we’re the only two people in the world. And she’s wearing a pretty dress, and I’ve been dying to do something about it all evening.
Again, her soft voice breaks through the stillness in the car. “I know you don’t like me because I annoy you and all. But I really appreciate what you did for me and how you made sure I wasn’t getting scammed. I would have made mistakes otherwise,” she says, audibly nervous. “So, thank you, Alexander, for helping me out regardless of our differences.”
It doesn’t feel right to let her think that I dislike her. And not just because it’s false, but because I can’t bear the idea.
For the first time since we stopped, I turn and look down at her. “You don’t annoy me,” I assert after several seconds have passed. “You frustrate me.”
“Because I’m annoying,” she insists.
I should let her think that. It’s so much simpler that way. But I can’t stop myself from saying, “No.”
Chapter 13
Ishould have exited the car as soon as we arrived. But I didn’t want to be rude, and I also didn’t want the moment to end. This tension within me every time he’s around is draining, but it’s also addictive.
So, I stayed, and now, all I can see is Lex and his fiery gaze. My heart beats harder and faster with every second that passes. I’m so overwhelmed by my own feelings that it takes me a while to register what I’m actually seeing.
Need.
Want.
Desire.
No, that’s the wine talking. There’s no way the Alexander Colemans of this world want the Andrea Walkers. He’s a god among us, and my closest celebrity doppelgänger is Dora the Explorer.
But then, why did he save my address in his car’s GPS? I’ve been trying to make sense of that since I noticed it earlier, and I can’t figure out what it means.
I need to go before I do or say something stupid. My lips part to utter a goodbye, and that catches his gaze. Right there, I get my answer. His pupils dilate until only a thin ring of dark gray surrounds them. If actions or words can be hard to interpret, biology isn’t.
Kate was right. She saw something I was too blind and clueless to notice. This whole thing isn’t as one-sided as I thought. Alexanderwantsme.
Alcohol seems to have knocked down the voice of reason that’s supposed to counterbalance my irrational thoughts because nothing comes up to contradict them.
That’s probably why the restunfolds the way it does.
I tilt toward him hastily, only to be painfully reminded of the seatbelt, which I unbuckle with a curse. This time, he’s already halfway there when I reach for his nape.
With a brutality that shows our impatience, our mouths collide.
The moment our lips touch, everything else fades. It’s as though I’ve waited months for this, years, instead of mere weeks. The shiver that runs through my entire body and ends between my legs is indescribable. With my hand still on his neck, I pull him harder, tilting my head to the side to adjust the angle of our kiss.
I vaguely hear the clicking of his seatbelt being undone, and then he turns to face me better. His hands reach for me soon after, one on my waist and one on the back of my head, and he eagerly draws me closer despite the console separating us.
