I look over and grin. “It is...” My voice trails off.
“I sense a ‘but’ coming.” He brings my hand up and places a quick kiss on the back of it before placing it back to rest on the center console.
“I should go home,” I say, stealing a glance in his direction. I catch his grimace. “I think that Ash would be pretty pissed off if I was out all night again.”
“Isn’t he already pissed?”
I nod. “He is. But maybe he’ll be less pissed.”
August chuckles. “Or we could pretend like you’re an adult and it’s already almost eleven, so what does it matter if you come home or not?”
I consider his words and decide he’s not wrong. But I feel like being there when Ash wakes up might go a little ways in tamping down his anger at me. There’s been a lot of that lately. Apparently, I’m making the same stupid decisions that I did in college when he wasn’t there to stop me.
“Do you want to have the conversation that you are having in your head with me?” August asks, glancing over at me.
I grin. “How’d you guess?”
“You were chewing at your lip, which means you’re arguing with yourself over something.”
I turn in surprise. Thankfully, we’re at stoplight so that he can look me in the eyes.
“I notice more about you than you realize,” he says, grinning, dropping his voice low before continuing. “I may not have the best reputation in your eyes, but I haven’t stopped paying attention to the little things that you do. And, honestly, it’s the same things that you did in college. I know you. Irememberyou.”
I grin at him. “I see that you do. And I appreciate that. I need to start cutting you a little slack, huh?” I give his hand a squeeze.
To my surprise he shrugs. “You can keep on giving me shit. I don’t care. Sometimes, I like our little banter. It’s refreshing and fun. You calling me on my bullshit, that is. I like that you are not afraid to stand up to me even though sometimes I feel like your remarks could cost you your job.” He taps my nose and continues, “I wouldn’t fire you, though, and not just because you are ‘The Wall,’ but because I like having you around.”
I grin at him and lean over, my lips slowly capturing his. He deepens it, and I let him. I go to remove my seatbelt so that I can get closer to him, but I hear a horn behind us. We slowly break apart.
“I think they want you to move now,” I say, a little breathless from the kiss.
He grins. “They can wait.” The horn beeps more urgently. “I guess they can’t.”
August guns the engine and pulls away so the beeping car is able to move through the light.
“Those assholes really know how to ruin a moment,” he says with a chuckle.
“They sure do,” I admit. Biting my lip, I hate the idea of what I’m about to say to him, but I know I have to. “As much as I want to come upstairs with you and lose myself in you, I know I can’t. I gotta head home and see my brother. We can see each other the next night at the bar, and I will let you take me home with you then. If you want to.”
August scoffs. “If I want to. Try and stop me from taking you home with me when we’re with our friends. I will take great pleasure in that.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Yeah, well, the girls might be surprised. I let them know that we were hanging out again, but I never said that I was banging you. I just said that we were taking things slow.”
“Oh, don’t worry, when I take you home, I will take things nice and slow.” I don’t miss the innuendo in his voice.
“That’s not quite how I meant. Although that might be a nice change of pace,” I tease him.
“Well, since you put it that way, then maybe we should go home and practice this slow loving that you would like.” His hand leaves mine and squeezes my thigh. As quickly as his hand leaves mine, it’s back there again.
“That’s tempting. But I think I’m heading home tonight, so you are flying solo,” I say, giving his hand a squeeze this time.
He sighs. “Alright, I get it. Go home and spend time with your brother. Maybe this will help him like me a bit more.”
“You could try hanging out with him and not insulting him,” I suggest.
“He could try the same thing. The man makes it so fucking easy,” he reminds me.
I shake my head, laughing. “I know that neither one of you wants to hear this, but I think you have problems getting along because you are so much alike. And you are both so fucking overprotective of me, even though you like to remind me that I’m an adult. Which is funny because around the two of you, I sure don’t feel like an adult.”
