Chapter 6
Addie
My body is rioting.
I’m not sure I’ve ever been this physically close to Michael. Add in the fact that he hasn’t stopped running his finger down the back of my neck, and I’m officially on edge.
I keep trying to stay in the conversation with Ryan and Zane, but all I can think about is the way Michael is touching me.
I want more.
I want to feel his entire body on mine. How would that even work? How far does his aversion to physical touch go?
I haven’t dared to touch him in return. I’m not entirely sure I’m allowed to, which just goes to show that I have no idea how we could even be sexually compatible.
Hell, what does he do when he has sex with other women?
I mentally cringe. I don’t want to think about that. I’ll just force him to tell me instead because after tonight, we are for damn sure having a conversation about this.
The way my body is crying out for his is maddening. I refuse to let him get away with the silent treatment any longer. Once Zane leaves, Michael and I will have a discussion.
“So you’re working in Greensborough now?” Ryan asks Zane.
“Yeah, I work nights for one of the hotels in the city. It’s not exactly the career I always hoped for, but it pays the bills.” Zane’s gaze moves across the table. “Michael, Addie told me you’re a police officer.”
“I am,” he says in his deep baritone voice.
“Mad respect, man. I couldn’t handle the stress of that job. All I have to do is watch a security camera.”
“It has its pros and cons,” Michael responds.
It’s not abnormal that he’s being short with Zane.
Michael has always had trouble interacting with new people.
He’s the most loyal and kind man, but only to the people who have proven to be the same in return.
After being abused as a child, it makes sense that he’d expect the people around him to prove themselves before he accepts them as a friend.
The waitress clears our plates, giving a flirty smile to the guys before flouncing back behind the counter.
“We should probably get going,” I say to Zane. “You’ve still got to drive home tonight.”
“Are you sure I can’t stay the night with you?” He gives me a cheeky wink.
“No. Addie doesn’t do sleepovers.” Michael’s words come out as rough as sandpaper.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Since when have I not done sleepovers?”
His dark eyes bore into me. He doesn’t have to use words to tell me that I’m testing his patience.
“I was just teasing,” Zane says, trying to defuse the tension. “I have to get back for my midnight shift.”
Ryan buys our dinner, waving us off when we protest, and the four of us head to the parking lot as a group. Ryan is already standing next to the truck while Michael moves as slowly as possible.
Oh my god. He’s jealous!
A part of me preens at the idea.
Michael sighs when he realizes he can no longer delay the inevitable. He gets into his truck while Zane and I get into my car. I pull out of Jones’s parking lot and drive the few blocks over to The Café, where we left Zane’s truck.
“Daaaaamn, girl, the sexual tension coming off of that man is palpable.” He fans his face.
I bust out laughing at Zane’s teasing.
“You told me he was intense, but I didn’t believe it until this moment. I think he’s the definition of intense. I would not want to be the recipient of all of that. Woof.”
“Shut up.” I smack Zane in the arm. “But yes, I have definitely imagined it multiple times.”
Zane and I met when I was at UNC. I thought he was a student on campus for a while, but it turns out he was actually one of the janitors.
I’d always see him at the library, coming in for his shifts in the evenings.
He was never wearing a uniform or anything when I would see him, so I thought he was there to study.
I’d stayed late one night and found him cleaning one of the hallways. We started chatting. I mostly distracted him from his job, and he distracted me from studying. We became fast friends after that.
And while I enjoyed Michael’s jealousy, there’s not a thing he needs to be jealous of. Zane would be more likely to sleep with Michael than with me. Although that mental image comes with my own splash of jealousy.
“I do wish you could stay the night,” I tell Zane.
“And tempt the wrath of Mr. Intense? No, thank you.”
“When can we hang out again?”
“I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get another day off, but anytime you want to come to Greensboro, baby, I’m there.”
Pulling up next to Zane’s tiny truck, I give him a hug across the console. “It’s really good to see you. We’ll talk soon, and let me know when you get home safely.”
“You know I will.” He gets out of my car and into his own. I wait for him to pull out first before following behind him.
Heading straight to Mom and Dad’s house, I think about all the things that happened tonight. Michael was definitely not acting normally. He almost always keeps his distance and has never once come across as jealous about other guys.
The more I think about it though, the more I’m not entirely sure he’s ever seen me with a guy.
I only dated a little bit in high school, and that amounted to guys taking me to the movies with our friends.
Then, after I went to college, I felt too out of my element to date much.
Being younger than everybody made things a little strange for me.
Add on graduating from undergrad early and starting vet school—again, years younger than everybody else—and I wasn’t comfortable dating the guys I met.
I couldn’t stop comparing Michael to the guys who asked me out, and it never felt the same.
Michael never made me feel out of place or lacking in any way. Even after my failed attempt at a kiss, Michael didn’t give me shit for it. I was probably more awkward about it than he was.
So tonight was strange, and it’s finally time for him to either put up or shut up. I can’t keep doing whatever it is that we’re doing right now.
I say a quick hi to Mom, Dad, and Vivi when I get home. We catch up, standing around the kitchen, talking about our days and how my visit with Zane went.
I’m champing at the bit to talk to Michael, but I need time to decide what to say before it gets too late to do anything—and cutting out early would make my family suspicious.
It takes way longer than I’d like to finally get up to my bedroom and get ready for bed.
By the time I’m lying down, I pick up my phone to start typing a message to Michael, only to find one from him already on my screen.
It seems I’m not the only one thinking it’s time we have that conversation.