I grabbed the zipper of my tan leather crossbody bag. “I can pay—”
“Yeah, no,” he said. “What should I order for you?”
Was this how it was going to be? Maybe I’d actually met the only person on earth more stubborn than I was.
“Salted caramel.”
He winked at me. “Good choice.”
We collected our drinks before heading back outside. The cocoa was every bit as good as he promised; the sweet milk chocolate was perfectly balanced by the slight savory undertone of the caramel.
As we wandered along the path, the sun began its descent below the horizon, casting the sky in shades of dusky violet and warm pink. Leaves crunched beneath our feet, and a slight breeze picked up, rustling through the trees and ruffling my hair.
“This is the second date-like non-date we’ve ended up on,” I said, clutching the red paper cup in my hand. Probably more date-like than anything I had done with Luke in ages, come to think of it.
“It is?”
Oh, sweet summer child. Of course he wouldn’t know. Girls came along and threw themselves at his feet. Or his other body parts. No wining and dining required.
I stole a glance at him. “Let me guess, you don’t go on dates.”
“Not really.” He took a sip of his hot chocolate, dark brow furrowed. “But isn’t this something you’d do with your friends? Get drinks, sit around, and gossip and shit? You know, chick stuff.”
“I guess so,” I said. “You want to do chick stuff with me?”
“Why not? My life is testosterone overload most of the time. It gets old. Plus, guys are smelly. Dallas after a game could be a biological weapon.”
We came to a fork in the path, and he pointed to the left. Ahead was a rickety staircase built into the hillside, its wood gray and weathered with age. It didn’t look like it could support Chase, let alone both of us, but he knew what he was doing. I hoped.
I laughed. “This is your ulterior motive? Not to mess with Luke, but so we can get mani-pedis and have pillow fights?”
He cocked a brow, gesturing for me to go up the stairs first. “For the record, you texted me tonight.”
“You kidnapped me from the arena before that.” I took a tentative step, testing the surface below my foot before climbing the steep staircase. Chase followed, his line of sight likely somewhere near my ass. My mind ricocheted back to the kiss earlier, my knees going weak at the memory.
“And before that, you cockblocked me at XS.”
I glanced back at him. “You came up to me first, Mr. Wannabe Airline Pilot.”
“Fair enough.” He grinned. “I’ll pass on the mani-pedis, but I’m down for a pillow fight any day of the week. Preferably in our underwear.”
Oh.
Picturing Chase in underwear wasn’t helping me keep my mind straight after that kiss.
He came to stand beside me on the landing, halfway up the stairs, and I poked him in the side. “Don’t be dirty.”
“What?” Chase said with mock innocence. “I wasn’t.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Fine, I was. But the offer stands.”
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 15
OceanofPDF.com
DESPERATE TIMES
Chase
Bailey and I finished scaling the wooden staircase built into the earth and rounded a corner at the top, coming out at an opening in the trees. I was a little winded, not because I’d just climbed two stories’ worth of stairs—I could do that in my sleep—but from my proximity to her.
I was losing my chill.
“Wow,” Bailey breathed. “You can see all of downtown.”
She followed me to the wrought-iron bench that sat at the very edge of the hillside. In front of us lay the city skyline, its lights twinkling in the dusky purple twilight. Skyscrapers lined the jagged horizon, some of the windows still lit from within. And a steady stream of cars moved over the connecting roads in a blur of red and white.
I still wasn’t sure what had possessed me to bring her here, somewhere I had never brought anyone else—or even mentioned it to.
“The view from here is amazing.” Shifting her weight, she crossed her legs.
I couldn’t help but stare. They were long and shapely, and I hadn’t been able to get them out of my mind since XS.
“The view right here’s pretty nice too.”
Her lips curled, and her cheeks darkened almost imperceptibly in the dim light. She shot me a look that said she couldn’t tell if I was messing around or not. Which meant my game had gone to shit lately. Probably due to lack of practice and aforementioned absence of chill.
“How do you know about this place?” Bailey’s round eyes searched my face, her expression turning serious.
“Sometimes I come here for runs in the off-season. You know, to mix it up and get off the dreadmill.” I stretched my legs out in front of me, draping an arm along the back of the bench. “Then I stop and undo all my hard work with a sugar-laden drink at the end. It’s all about balance.”
“Must be paying off if you guys are schooling us in the standings this badly already.”
“Guess so.” I shrugged. “You should probably jump ship while you can. It’s not too late to join our bandwagon.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Keep dreaming.”
We fell quiet, looking out at the view, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was kind of nice being with someone who, like me, didn’t feel the need to fill every second with idle chatter. After a while, we slipped back into small talk about school, hockey, and other friend-appropriate topics.
Until my internal stream of thoughts butted in before I could stop myself.
“No offense to you, but I don’t get the Morrison thing,” I said. “You’re cool. And that dude’s got about as much personality as a carton of white milk.”
“Oh my god.” She stopped mid-sip and huffed out a little breath of air. “Somehow that fits perfectly.”
I drained the last of my hot chocolate. “Seriously, what did you see in him? Asking for a friend.” I paused. “Okay, that friend is me. I’m a nosy fuck.”
I’d thought about this more than I cared to admit, and I’d still come up empty-handed. Bailey was smart, hot, and funny; she could have had her pick of almost anyone. I couldn’t reconcile why she’d give that douchebag the time of day, let alone date him for an extended length of time.
Was this what jealousy felt like? I didn’t like it. At all.
Bailey frowned, looking out over the cityscape. “Honestly, I don’t know. We started dating freshman year. I guess sometimes you get attached to people and let things go on longer than they should. I was young and naive, I guess.”
“Yeah, you’re really getting up there now. Twenty-one, yikes.” I sucked in a breath. “Talk about ancient.”
“Wait.” She furrowed her brow. “When’s your birthday?”
“January third.” As a kid, it sucked. Parties and presents were perpetually overshadowed by Christmas and New Year’s. But it was an awesome birthday as far as hockey was concerned, because I was always the oldest in our birth year division. Combined with being larger than average, I was often a giant among the other players.