Chapter Two #2
He sure as hell hadn’t missed that.
“She’s a treat.” Scott grinned before digging into his meatloaf.
Jeremy followed suit, shoving food into his mouth to keep from responding.
Nico nodded. “If you two didn’t have chemistry biting the air around you, Jeremy, I’d ask her out.”
It was funny how food could taste amazing one second, then sit like lead in his stomach the next.
Ignoring the chemistry remark was easy. Hell, he’d been ignoring his chemistry with Elle for almost a year now.
But the thought of Nico going on a date with her was not something Jeremy could disregard, no matter how hard he tried.
He loved Nico like a brother, but the guy only dated to have sex. And even though his buddy never led his dates on, Jeremy didn’t like the thought of those two together.
Which was stupid.
He had no claim on Elle. Didn’t want to have a claim on her. Didn’t even like her. Elle was a grown woman who could do what she wanted.
And Jeremy tried to tell that to Nico, but his damn lips wouldn’t say the words. Swallowing an oath, he concentrated on eating, and before long, the food on his plate disappeared without him tasting it. Which sucked, because Gabe’s had the best meatloaf in a twenty-five-mile radius.
Although he wanted to blame the woman for interfering with his tastebuds, Jeremy knew that wasn’t fair. It was his fault for allowing her to get under his skin.
And even if she hadn’t rushed away after her “miracle” and “funny” comments, he wouldn’t have responded anyway.
That wasn’t his style. He’d never berate her in public, or even in private.
Besides, he got the impression his silence and lack of verbal response ticked her off more than any type of comeback.
For him, in this situation, silence was golden.
A smile tugged at his lips as he reached for his iced tea. He was halfway through his drink when he watched Elle approach Ryder’s booth.
“Can I get anyone anything else?” she asked, piling empty plates into her arms. “We have some of Jill’s chocolate cake left.”
Phoebe inhaled while Sophia gasped.
“The better than sex one?” the latter asked. “I didn’t know you sold her cakes here.”
Elle chuckled. “Yep, and yep, it’s the better than sex one.”
Funny thing number two. His body didn’t react one iota when Sophia said sex, but when the word left Elle’s lips, his body tightened, and another zap shot through him.
“In that case, I’ll have a slice of sex,” Sophia said.
Phoebe smiled. “I want some sex too.”
His buddies remained silent, shaking their heads when Elle asked if they wanted any.
Scott and Nico chuckled, but not Jeremy. He understood Ryder and Ethan’s silence and strangled expression. He remained stoic in solidarity, even when Elle turned to face his table.
“How about you three? Can I get you anything else? More drinks? Dessert?” she asked.
“Nothing for me, thanks, Elle,” Scott replied.
Nico sat up and a wide smile spread across his face.
Shit.
Jeremy braced for impact.
“I’d like some sex too, Elle,” his idiot friend answered.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Maybe a blush to creep into her face, or some of the dishes to slip from her arms, but it wasn’t the soft chuckle that left her lips, or the wink she directed at Nico.
“More sex coming up,” she said before meeting Jeremy’s gaze. “Pretty sure I already know your answer, but do you want something else?”
Maybe it was the derision in her tone or the boredom in her eyes. Whatever the reason, it had his mouth belaying the stand down orders from his brain.
“Sex, Elle,” he replied. “I think I’ll have some of that sex you’re offering, too.”
The damn words were out before he could stop them. He didn’t even like chocolate cake. He was more of a vanilla kind of guy.
Someone gasped behind her at Ryder’s booth. It was definitely female. The guys, no doubt, were wearing smiles similar to Nico and Scott.
Elle wasn’t smiling, though.
That blush he’d expected before now colored her cheeks a pretty shade of pink, and the dishes in her hands wobbled enough for him to surge to his feet to steady her arms from behind.
“Easy, there,” he said quietly near her ear. “I’ve got you.”
Her breath hitched, and his body responded with a stirring in his groin.
A second later, she straightened her spine. “Thanks, but I’ve got it now.” And to prove it, she moved out of his arms and marched right across the dining room and through the swinging kitchen door without dropping a thing.
“Proud of you, Mercer,” Scott stated.
Ryder cleared his throat. “That was very interesting.”
Ethan scratched the bridge of his nose and nodded.
“I found it very telling.” Sophia smiled.
Phoebe outright grinned. “You two might not like each other, but I don’t think your bodies got that memo.”
Shit.
“You dog.” Nico laughed. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Realizing more than a few people were staring at him, Jeremy sat back down. Last thing he needed were tongues wagging and for it to get back to the lieutenant.
Scott cocked his head, a smile still evident in his eyes. “Never saw any woman get a reaction out of you. She must get to you.”
He barely held back a snort. She got to him, all right. Got under his skin. Got into his system and had his pulse pounding a load of stupid into his damn brain.
Jeremy had no idea what drew him to Elle, and yeah, he was drawn to the woman. Okay, so maybe he liked her sharp mind and wit, but he didn’t like how she used them to drive him nuts…every time they met.
She arrived with her arms laden with slices of cake, and by the time she handed them out to her friends and his, Jeremy had his mind made up to address what he’d done. She set his cake down without a word.
And when she made to walk away, he caught her wrist in his hand.
“Elle, wait,” he said, noting the pulse leaping under his thumb. “About before.”
Her gaze brightened, and interest replaced dread. “Yeah?”
“I was out of line,” he said, hoping to put her at ease. The sudden urge to keep her gaze as open as it was right now had words scrambling in his head. He cleared his throat. “It won’t happen again.”
In his haste to put her at ease, he overshot his mark, because her expression closed, and for a moment he wished he could…Hell. He had no idea what he could and should do when it came to Elle.
“Good to know,” she said and walked away.
His gut tightened.
She twisted him in knots then twisted those knots into knots.
Last year, they’d rubbed each other the wrong way, but seeing her again, being close to her again had him, for a split second, thinking about rubbing her the right way. It proved how much stupidity had been beaten into his brain today.
She didn’t just get under his skin. Elle made him weak, and he didn’t have time or space in his life for any type of weakness.
Avoiding her had been the smart move and one he intended to continue.
With luck, he wouldn’t run into her for another six months.