“She’s for hire,” Livie says. “As long as you buy her sneakers. That’s the price I paid.”
I laugh. “You are such a liar! You bought me sneakers because you lost the ones you borrowed from me last fall.”
“Still for hire,” she quips.
“I’d hire you,” Finn says, his voice dropping as he moves closer.
I feel like I'm going to die—from the proximity, his delicious scent, and the way he's acting with me in public. His gaze drops to my mouth and I instinctively lick my lips.
“Fuck,” he says. It’s a breath, barely a sound.
Everything around us disappears as he moves his face closerto mine. He brushes his nose against mine and the butterflies in my stomach riot.
“Finn,” I say quietly, a warning, a plea.
As if remembering where we are, he pulls back and looks around. Only then do I let out the breath I was holding. I clear my throat and glance at Livie, who’s looking at us with a shocked expression on her face, but quickly goes back to her phone. I start drumming on the table and stare at my white nails. I’m dying to check my phone, but I don’t want to do it in front of him.
All day I’ve been expecting a text from Scarlet at Onyx—which is exactly how she’s saved on my phone—and I’d rather Finn not see it. Knowing him, he’ll jump to conclusions and call me a liar again, which … I guess I technically am. The thought makes my stomach coil. Mallory’s no longer with us, and she’s still a pain in the ass. God, I miss her.
“I’ll be right back,” Livie says, standing and walking away.
I watch her go, knowing I’m going to getsuchan earful about this later.
“Whose shirt are you wearing today, Josie?” Finn asks, his voice deeper than it was before and his eyes so dark my heart skips another beat.
“Don’t call me that,” I whisper, swallowing. “And it’s Damian’s.”
He makes a low grunting noise. “Do you need me to take you shopping for clothes?”
My brows rise. “I have clothes.”
“Why do you keep wearing other men’s shirts then?”
My mouth twists. “Okay, first of all, you can’t tell me what I can?—”
“I would never tell you what to wear.”
“—and can’t wear.” I shoot him a look. “Secondly, this is my stepbrother’s shirt, so?—”
“I don’t like seeing it on you.”
I blink. “—you can’t possibly be jealous.”
“Seeing you in other men’s clothes is fucking maddening, Josslyn,” he growls.
My heart stops, but I don’t take my eyes away from his, and the longer we stare, the hotter the fire in his eyes burns into me. I resist the urge to ask why, but it’s clear Finn doesn’t even know what he’s feeling. Suddenly, he pulls back and straightens. When I look forward, I see my stepbrother and Will grabbing pretzels and cheese and turning to walk over. We spend the next hour talking shit and eating pretzels, and even though we’re not alone, it feels like we are in our own bubble as we joke back and forth. If I completely tune out the other three people with us, I can almost pretend it’s a date.
That’s the first sign that I’m treading in dangerous waters. I shouldn’t be thinking about dates with this man, but it’s impossible to decipher what the hell we’re doing. And I don’t want to bethat girlwho asks, “What are we?” after being told the rules of the game, even though it feels like he’s totally obliterating them. I’m going to let it play out a little longer, but I just might have to bethat girl.
25
FINN
I’m not following Josslyn on purpose. We were driving in the same direction and I happened to be two cars behind her when she turned into Onyx. Of course, I pulled into the lot and parked the car in a spot where I could see her.My sister died here.What the fuck is Josslyn doing here? I look at the time, hoping to somehow pause it. I left my house early, and now I’m going to be late for dinner with my parents, but I don’t care. I’ll cancel if I have to. This is much more important.
I watch her get out of her car, lock it, look around a few times, and walk to the side door.The side door.Unease grips me. As she waits, I check her out. She’s wearing black heels and a little black dress that hugs her hips. She looks mouthwatering, which makes me even more annoyed that she’s here. She texts someone, and the door opens a few seconds later. I can’t get a clear view of who opened it, but the moment it shuts, I’m out of my car.
My gut twists as I head to the front door. Inside, a pretty redhead greets me and asks for my name and ID, which I give her. I’m not in the mood for conversation, so I’m glad she doesn’t say much as she hands me a mask and an assortment of wristbands. Ionly grab the white one and go inside. In the middle, their usual exotic show is going on, but I don’t take the time to admire it. I channel all my focus on walking to the bar and finding Josslyn.
