Chapter 8 #2
I’ll have to do some serious damage control before we leave. I can’t have Odette believing Sadie is my date. She means well, but she loves to gossip.
“I’m not easy to tease,” Sadie replies to my earlier comment. “I’m just… I don’t know, trying not to assume people are like me.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Your comment that I could kill you in a car wreck. That’s something I’d totally say because I’m savage like that.”
I lean against the back of the booth seat. “Are you saying I’m a savage?”
Her eyebrows arch. “Oh no. That’s not what I’m saying at all.” She shakes her head and then rests it in her hand. “You see what I’m saying though? I just offended you without meaning to.”
“You didn’t offend me. That was also a joke. Told ya you’re too easy to tease.”
She looks up, narrowing her eyes to slits. “All right, Danny Hudson. It seems I’ve been holding back with you for nothing. You can obviously take whatever I have to dish out.”
“I never said I couldn’t.”
She presses her index finger over her lips. “Hmm. I wasn’t sure. I mean, you were pretty mental at the party.”
“Only because someone had wrecked my car and not left a note.”
“I left a note.”
I give her a droll stare. “Really? Are we going to start the note debacle again?”
She smirks. “Better not, huh?”
Odette returns with our orders, and I’m thankful the service here is fast. Keeping myself busy with food will give me time to reset the thoughts in my head. I’m feeling out of my depth with Sadie, and I don’t like it one bit.
My eyes are on my soup when a moan escapes her lips. The sound seems to shoot straight to my cock, making it twitch. Damn everything to hell. I shove a spoonful of hot soup into my mouth, burning my tongue in the process. Anything to stop the sudden awakening happening in my pants.
“This is real good nosh,” she says. “Do you want a bite?”
I glance up, finding her offering a piece of maple syrup–drenched pancake to me.
Why is the idea of Sadie feeding me so damn erotic? Am I missing pussy that much? No, that’s not it. I wouldn’t be reacting like this with anyone else, that much I know.
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Your loss.” She shoves the piece of pancake in her mouth, not caring that it is obviously too large.
“You eat like a dude,” I say, and I don’t know why.
She swallows before replying, “No, I eat like a person who didn’t realize they were starving. This is not a date anyway, so I don’t have to pretend to be all prissy. Although, I’ve never done that before.”
“You’ve never gone out on a date or pretended to have manners?”
“Both. And for the record, I do have manners. But I also have an older brother.”
“Ah, mystery solved.” I swallow another spoonful of soup. “How come you’ve never dated before?”
“Seriously? Teenage boys are gross. Besides, I was too busy with football. I’m not saying I’ve never snogged or shagged anyone. I’m not a blushing virgin, for crying out loud. I have needs.”
Fuck, how did I wind up talking about Sadie’s sex life? I’m trying to ignore how attractive she is, and the mental pictures popping in my head are not helping.
“Hi, Danny.” An annoyingly sweet voice that makes my skin crawl draws my attention away from Sadie.
I glance up and find Gwen standing near our booth. Two other girls wearing sorority hoodies are flanking her.
“Hey,” I reply, cold enough that she won’t miss the hint.
Her eyes turn to Sadie, who has not slowed down inhaling her food on Gwen’s account.
Shit, I think I already love this girl.
What the hell am I thinking?
“We have to stop meeting like this,” Gwen continues.
“Yeah, for real.”
Sadie raises a questioning eyebrow at me. Hell, I hope she doesn’t decide to play the ten-thousand-questions game once Gwen leaves.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Gwen asks through clenched teeth.
For fuck’s sake. She’s acting like she did at the end of our relationship.
“The name is Sadie. And if all you wanted was an introduction, you should have said so. I will sign a napkin if you want, but I draw the line at selfies.”
“Why would we want your autograph?” one of Gwen’s friends asks. “Are you famous or something?”
“Oh, you don’t know who I am? How refreshing.” Sadie smiles. “I knew coming to America was the right decision for me. Grammy didn’t really think so. It was hard to convince her, especially after the whole scandal with Harry and Meghan. The poor thing was brokenhearted.”
“Wait. Are you implying the Queen of England is your grandmother?” The girl’s voice turns high-pitched.
I’ll be damned. She’s actually buying Sadie’s bullshit.
“Of course she’s not related to the queen, Carol. Come on,” Gwen retorts, but I detect a hint of uncertainty.
Sadie shrugs. “Believe me or not, I don’t bloody care. Now, if you don’t mind, bugger off and let us get back to our dinner.”
“That was rude,” Gwen replies.
“No ruder than you stopping here and acting like Danny owes you anything.”
Wow. When Sadie said she was holding back with me, she wasn’t kidding.
“Are you going to let her talk to me like that?” Gwen turns her ire on me.
“Did she say anything that wasn’t true?”
Gwen’s friends trade a glance that looks a lot like third-degree embarrassment. Her face is bright red when she storms off and walks out of the diner.
I should be relieved she’s gone, but I’m rattled. My hands are shaking when I break my sandwich into pieces. I can’t believe I let her get to me like that.
“Dear Lord. That was pleasant.” Sadie sticks a piece of crispy bacon into her mouth.
I don’t offer a comment; instead, I shove a piece of bread into my mouth and chew on it with excessive force.
“You don’t need to tell me who that was, even though I can guess,” Sadie continues, clearly unfazed. “We all have a past that we wish stayed in the past.”
“What’s yours?”
She doesn’t answer until she chews and swallows her food, all the while keeping her eyes locked on mine.
“Maybe I’ll tell you one day.”