Chapter 13 #2
She cocked her head to one side. “What’s the matter? Scared to touch me?”
“No.” But I was. If I touched her, it was all over.
“So you don’t really want to dance with me, you just don’t want me to dance with anyone else.” She rolled her eyes. “Figures.”
She walked off the dance floor, but instead of going back to the table, she headed toward the bathrooms. I followed her, even though I felt like every eye in the place was watching us.
But instead of entering the ladies’ room, she blew right by it.
Bursting out the back door, she stomped off around one side of the building, in the opposite direction of the parking lot.
“Hey!” I called, hurrying to catch up with her. “Where are you going?”
“Leave me alone. I want some air.”
“It’s dark out here!”
“Then you better keep your distance—you know what happens with us in the dark. You might start to feel sorry for me again!”
“Will you stop?” I got close enough to grab her by the elbow and spun her to face me. “I want to talk to you.”
“Let go!” She shook off my grip and faced me, her eyes shining with anger in the moonlight.
“I’m sorry.” I held up my hands. “I didn’t mean to manhandle you. I just wanted to—”
“To what?” She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes going wide. “Punish me for dancing with someone else? It’s obvious you didn’t like it.”
“I didn’t,” I admitted. “I wanted to fucking lay him out.”
“That’s ridiculous. We were just dancing.”
“He had his arms around you,” I seethed.
“And you were jealous?”
“Yes!”
“So put your fucking arms around me, Austin! No one is stopping you!”
Pushed to the limit, I did exactly what she said—threw my arms around her and crushed my mouth to hers. My tongue swept between her lips, insistent, hot, demanding. I poured all my anger and jealousy and frustration into that kiss, desperate to smother my fired-up feelings.
But her arms wound around my neck, and she jumped up, wrapping her legs around me, which only stoked the flames.
My hands moved beneath her ass, and I put her back against the old barn wall, which throbbed with the pounding drums inside.
I ground my cock between her legs, rubbing my hard length against her pussy through those little black shorts.
She moaned against my lips, and I wondered if we’d get caught if I fucked her right here in the dark against the side of The Broken Spoke—although frankly, I wasn’t even sure I’d last long enough to get caught. I was about to come in my pants.
The song came to an end, and I heard whistles and applause from inside the bar. Returning to my senses, I set her down and took a step back. Both of us were breathing hard.
“God,” she panted, wiping her mouth. “You can be such an asshole, but you sure know how to kiss.”
I grimaced, even as my chest filled with pride.
Adjusting her skirt, she leaned back against the wall. “So what happens now? You going to apologize again? Promise to stay away from me?”
“I should.”
She glared at me, her eyes catching the moonlight. “Don’t bother.”
“What is this, Veronica?” I blurted. “What are we doing?”
“Hell if I know! I know what we would be doing if you’d just relax and have some fun. What are you so afraid of?”
I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t put it into words.
“The kids are gone for a week, Austin. The tension between us is driving us both crazy. If you weren’t such a chicken, we could get it out of our systems!”
“I’m not a chicken!” I told her. “It’s not just about the kids.”
“Then what? Are you worried about me? Are you afraid I might think you’re my boyfriend if I let you get to third base? Please.” She held up one hand. “The last thing I’m looking for is another relationship.”
Her words were tempting me to kiss her again. To take her home and run for third base—fuck that, I wanted to score. But something was holding me back.
“It’s not right,” I said stubbornly.
She tilted her head. Then she moved close enough to stand chest to chest with me, placing her hand over the bulge in my jeans. “That feel wrong to you?”
I couldn’t lie, so I said nothing. Always my default.
Her lips tipped up, and she shook her head. “Next time you kiss me, Austin, do it because you want to, not because you don’t want me kissing somebody else.” She dropped her hand. “Or don’t do it at all.”
Then she turned on her heel and walked away.
When we left the bar, she rode home in the back seat, stiff and silent. I didn’t say anything either, and Xander gave up trying to make conversation and turned up the radio.
At home, Veronica jumped out of the car quickly. “Thanks for taking me, I had fun,” she said without any emotion whatsoever. Then she slammed the door and marched up the driveway toward the garage.
“What the hell happened with you guys tonight?” Xander asked as we watched her go up the stairs to her apartment, illuminated by Xander’s headlights.
I exhaled and rubbed the back of my neck. “I fucked up.”
“Before or after you borrowed her lipstick?” Xander reached over and swiped at my neck.
I knocked his hand away and rubbed at the spot. “This stuff is like industrial marine varnish. It doesn’t come off.”
“You know what your problem is? You’ve got no finesse.”
“My problem is that she works for me, asshole,” I snapped. “What kind of dad screws the babysitter?”
“Don’t make it into that,” Xander shot back. “It’s not like she’s a teenage innocent and you’re a pervy old man. The kids aren’t even around.”
“What happens if things go badly?”
Xander laughed. “You mean what if you’re a two-pump chump?”
“Fuck off! I’m being serious, Xander.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I mean, what happens if I sleep with her and then it’s awkward, and we’re stuck having to practically live together for the rest of the summer? Or what if things go wrong and she leaves?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“And not only is messing around with her a risk in terms of the job, but she’s just getting out of a terrible relationship. That guy was a real dick to her.”
“That’s why she needs you. Show her that not all guys are like that.”
“What if she’s not thinking straight? What if she’s just lonely and vulnerable and I’m the jerk that took advantage of her?”
Xander sighed. “Look, I don’t know her that well, but she doesn’t strike me as fragile.”
“She hides it well,” I said, remembering things she’d told me about her past.
My brother was quiet for a minute, staring out at the garage. “I don’t know, dude. Maybe I’m not reading the signals right. But from where I’m sitting, she’s into you, you’re into her, and you both seem like you could use a good time with someone you trust. That’s all.”
Xander had hit on something—Veronica trusted me. Maybe that was the problem. I didn’t want to ruin it.
Leaning across me, he opened the glove box and pulled out a condom. “But for god’s sake, be careful this time.”
“I’m not going to sleep with her, Xander.”
But I took that condom with me.