“I should get you girls home.” Her face flushes, and she runs her teeth over her top lip, letting it go with a pop.
I jump out. “I’ll call you ladies a cab,” I tell them, and Ocea’s face falls. “I’ll get Nate to tow your car back to your place if that’s all right.”
Her face instantly brightens, and I hate how glad it makes me. When her friends are safe en route to their houses, with strict instructions to the driver to make sure they’re inside their homes, I pull off my jacket and wrap it around Ocea’s small shoulders. “Let’s get you home.” I smile at her, and she looks away.
Nathan arrives and mounts her car on his truck. I open the door to mine, and she hops in. She snuggles into the seat, and I can’t help but think she belongs there. Her head lulls against the door, and after a few minutes, soft snores escape her lips. I can’t keep my eyes off her as we drive down the quiet streets.
I pull up outside her house, and I feel that familiar tug in my chest. I swallow the lump in my throat as I get out and stand in front of my truck, looking up at the place my home once stood. Her house is smaller; it’s different. Much of the neighborhood is. I look across the street at the Barnes’s house. I wonder if they still live there. If I close my eyes, I can see my mother planting flowers in the front garden in her extra-large sunhat. She smiles at me and calls me over, throwing dirt on my clean shirt. Her laugh lives in this place.
I wipe away a tear, then walk over to the truck. I open the door slowly, thankful Ocea moves away from it. Her temple lies against the headrest, her hair falling like silk over my jacket. She’s fucking beautiful. Her eyes open lazily, and when those ocean-blue orbs stare at me, I swear it’s like an out-of-body experience.
A smile spreads across her face, and I lean in and kiss her before I can talk myself out of it. Ocea smells sweet, like honey and whiskey all rolled into one. Her lips press to mine, and when I run my tongue over them, she opens and lets me taste her. I draw her closer, my hands behind her head. Her fingers tangle in my hair, and I feel myself harden at the connection. I should take her inside that house and fuck her senseless. She pulls me closer, her small body pressing up against me. I have to pull away when the reality of where we are hits. She’s breathless, her cheeks flushed bright pink as the first light of day touches it, her lips swollen. I rub a thumb over them.
“You should get inside.” My voice comes out husky.
She nods and smiles at me sweetly. I watch her walk away until she’s safely inside. She doesn’t ask me to come in, and it makes me like her even more.
Thank you.She texts me when I get back into my truck.
It would have been easier just to tell me you wanted to see me again.I type back.
And miss out on this? ;)
I shake my head and reply.Sleep.
Bubbles appear and then disappear.K
I slip my phone in my pocket and get in my truck, casting one last glance at her house.
Like a moth is drawn to the flame, I am drawn to her. To her pretty eyes that light up when she speaks; to those rosy cheeks that are a clear giveaway that she’s nervous around me; to the strands of dark hair hanging from her messy bun. She’s just gotten off her shift, and she wears a thin jacket over her scrubs. She’s beautiful in a lost kind of way. Her presence both revives and suffocates me.
I watch her as she chats to the man at the bar, unable to look anywhere else. I feel a wave of jealousy in the comfortable way they’re talking. She just arrived. Kyle and Dr. Kent, Moira, sit opposite me, lost in flirtatious comments and suggestive touches. I don’t know how I always get roped into things like this. I figured a double date with Ocea would be fun, but the more I am around her, the more annoyed I get at myself more than anything. I have gone on dates, and women have landed between my sheets over the years, but I can’t say any girl I just met has ever held my interest as this one does. That kiss plays over in my mind more times than I care to admit.
“You like her,” Moira says.
“Excuse me?” My eyes avert to the redhead in front of me.
“Ocea. You’ve been staring at her since she walked in.”
“I have not. I’m just trying to keep my eyes off you two.”
She raises her brows in thatyeah rightkind of way.
I’m kind of intrigued. I have to admit. She hasn't so much as looked this way. She didn’t text me either since that kiss. But in her defense, neither did I. I figured if I let whatever it is between us simmer, it’ll eventually cool down.
She finally joins us, her smile bright. “Hey,” she greets, barely acknowledging me. She opens her backpack and pulls out my jacket, handing it to me.
“Thanks,” I offer.
“I ordered us a round,” she tells Moira. “Good to see you on the mend, Kyle.
“How have you been?” she asks me, her cheeks stiff like she’s biting against saying what she actually wants to.
“Oh, the same, you?” I down my beer, feeling a slight buzz.
“Great,” she snaps, and the two across from us give me a confused look. What’s got her panties in a twist?
The guy at the bar arrives and places our drinks in front of us. He takes a shot of whatever Ocea is having, and that makes my fists clench. I could take him on. Kick his ass if need be.She’s on a fucking double date. Can’t you tell, asshole?
