Chapter Fourteen
Alex couldn’t believe how bad she was being.
She wiped her mouth with her napkin and placed in on top of her empty plate.
She’d had a glass of wine with dinner, and had ordered—and eaten—the most delicious, decadent, creamy, cheesy, buttery, mushroom risotto for dinner, followed by chocolate molten lava cake for dessert.
And then there was Nick.
She’d spent the better part of the last two hours touching and teasing him under the table.
She had no idea where the urge had come from, but he’d been sitting there looking all sexy and everything, so she’d reached over and grabbed his thigh.
The muscles had tensed under her fingers, and a thrill had raced through her. So, she kept doing it.
A touch here, a brush of skin there. And she may have, at one point, slipped her heel off and played a game of footsie with him.
It had been fun and freeing. And she’d loved his reactions.
The way he tensed, or shifted slightly. The way his breath hitched when she did something really naughty, like squeeze his upper thigh.
However, she was so hot and bothered now, she could barely stand it. All the teasing was getting to her.
His hand landed on her knee. She covered her gasp with a small, fake cough against her elbow. The silk dress was no match for his heated palm.
The urge to squirm was so intense, she grabbed onto the seat of the chair to stop. Focused on the story Janelle was telling, the one about the time she’d ended up in charge of the fifth-grade bake sale, which thankfully Alex had heard plenty of times.
He slipped the silk up over her knee, brushed his fingers against her bare skin.
Goosebumps prickled up her thigh, nerve endings sparking in their wake.
His touch followed them, sending heat to band low in her belly.
Everything below her bellybutton throbbed, picking up and copying the erratic rhythm of her heart.
She glanced at him. He was watching Janelle intently, like he was absorbed in her story—and maybe he was, at least partly—but there was a bit of color in his cheeks. He glanced at Alex, his fingers continuing their leisurely glide up her leg. The heat in his eyes killed the breath in her lungs.
The waiter chose that moment to come by and ask if there was anything else they needed. Nick slipped his hand out from under her dress. She swallowed back a whimper, although, at this point, she wasn’t sure if it was one of relief or disappointment.
Tyler glanced around the table, his brow raised in her and Nick’s direction. Oh, goodness, did he know what they’d been doing? How could he possibly know? Had they been that obvious?
Heat exploded in her cheeks, burned the tips of her ears. Her face and chest probably matched her dress. She shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nick shake his. She didn’t trust herself to look at him.
“No, thanks,” Tyler said, turning back to the waiter. “Just the bill, please.”
The waiter nodded and swept their plates up and away. An awkward silence descended, like a low-pressure system over the coast, making the air dense and thick. She didn’t know where to look, so she decided to stare at the tablecloth, at least until her heart rate returned to normal.
She kept her hands folded on the table this time, although it was probably like leaving the barn door open or the horse escaping or whatever the whole analogy was.
The waiter returned with the check, sliding it onto the table. All four of them reached for it, but Tyler managed to grab it first.
“I’ve got it,” he said, grabbing his wallet and slapping his credit card down without even looking at the total.
A small streak of something that felt a lot like envy slid through her.
She would love to not have to worry about the cost of something.
She’d thought her path was leading in that direction, but sadly, it looked like it was going to be a little while longer.
As if reading her thoughts, Nick reached over and squeezed her wrist. Warmth spread through her, but it was nothing like the hot and bothered heat he could induce with just a look. This was intimate and meaningful and comforting.
She liked it. She liked it a lot.
The waiter came back. Tyler paid for dinner with nothing more than a tap of his card. And then they were all standing and slipping on their coats.
She was closest to the door, so she spun and headed out. Nick’s spicy scent wrapped around her. The pressure of his hand on the small of her back sent goosebumps sliding down her spine.
She slipped out the door, delighting in the brush of frigid air against her heated skin. The contrast made her shiver.
“You okay?” He leaned in, his breath brushing against her ear.
The muscles of her abdomen clenched, the band of heat flaring back to life. He was killing her.
“Mm-hmm.” She didn’t trust herself to do anything more than the hum. She honestly wasn’t sure what might come out of her mouth if she opened it. Probably something embarrassing.
Moving away from the door, she stopped on the sidewalk. The others gathered around her.
Tyler glanced at his watch. “I know it’s still pretty early, but I’ve got an early morning flight tomorrow, so I’m going to bail.”
“It was nice to meet you.” She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. He gave her a quick, friendly hug back and then stepped away.
He turned to Janelle. She smiled and gave him a quick hug as well. Then he and Nick did the whole bro-hug, single back slap thing. They stood and watched in silence as Tyler hailed a cab and was off.
Nick turned back and held his hand out to Janelle. “It was great to meet you. And I’m really sorry about the issue with the building.”
Janelle pushed his hand away and stepped in to give him a hug. He hugged her back. When they were done, she motioned for him to bend down. He did as asked. She whispered something directly in his ear. He whispered something back.
Alex leaned in, straining hard to hear what they were saying.
Janelle patted his arm and stepped over to stand next to Alex. The smirk on her face sent Alex’s heart smacking against her ribs. What was her so-called bestie up to?
He pulled out his phone and walked away from them. Alex opened her mouth to protest him not saying goodbye, but Janelle shook her head and grabbed her arm.
“Give me your keys.” Janelle held out her hand.
“What?” She cocked her head. “I’m fine. I only had one glass of wine with dinner. Believe me, all those carbs soaked up any alcohol in my system.”
“No, I’m taking your car to your house and staying with Em tonight.” Janelle used the tone that suggested she was being dense.
She prickled. “Why would you stay with Em tonight?”
Janelle rubbed her forehead, like she was trying to stave off a headache. “Because I figured you’d like to spend the night with Nick.”
She was struck speechless for a second. This really wasn’t anything she’d considered. Which, in retrospect, was silly. Her only excuse was she’d never done this before. Never left Em alone to go on a date, let alone go back to someone’s hotel room for what was essentially a booty call.
“Unless you don’t want to go with Nick…”
She looked at Janelle, the uncertainty in her friend’s tone making her hesitate. Did she want to go with him? What they’d already done in her car aside, this felt like a big step. No, scratch that, this was a huge step. She glanced at him. He stood a little ways away, fooling around with his phone.
He was in profile, concentrating on the small screen. She took a minute to soak him in. He wasn’t what you’d call pretty. His features were too rough for that. But he was definitely rugged and handsome.
And she wanted him, probably more than she’d ever wanted anyone in her entire life.
She grabbed her keys out of her little—bordering on useless—purse and tossed them to Janelle. Her friend caught them with one hand and a smile.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Alex popped a mint into her mouth and hurried over to Nick.
Nick glanced up from his phone. Alex was headed his way. She had the sexiest smile on her face. All the air escaped his lungs on a whoosh.
“Hey.” She stopped in front of him.
“Hey,” he said, and then wanted to kick his ass again for being such a loser. Way to go, Sadler. There’s that suave and witty reply.
She stood there staring at him, the look on her beautiful face both hopeful and unsure.
It took far too long for the pieces to click into place in his brain. He was going to blame it on his history of concussions. “Would you like to come back to my hotel with me tonight, Alex?”
“Yes, Nick, I would.” Her smile morphed into that full on happy one that lit her up from the inside. He needed his sun glasses, she was so luminous. She took his hand. Her skin was warm against his.
He wrapped his fingers around hers and gave a little squeeze. She squeezed back. A little bit of tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, melted away.
Unable to resist, he lifted their joined hands to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of hers. Goosebumps broke out on the skin of her wrist. He’d bet just about anything, they’d scattered up her arm.
“I’ll grab us a cab,” he said, getting ready to hail one with his free hand. There was no way he was letting her go until it was absolutely necessary.
“No.” She shook her head. His heart stuttered to a stop, disappointment so acute flooding through him, he couldn’t breathe for a second. “The hotel’s only a few blocks from here. I’d like to walk, if that’s okay.”
The relief that rushed through him was so intense, his fucking knees damn near buckled. Only sheer force of will keep him standing.
“Sure.” His voice came out all weird and breathless. Not wanting to draw attention to said weirdness, he trailed his gaze down her incredible legs. “Although, are you going to be okay in those shoes?”
Her shoes made her legs look incredible—all toned and long—but the heels on them were at least three and half inches high. That she could stand there in them was a marvel.