Page 51 of After You

But in the next moment, Kyle admitted that if he had, he would have reeled it in. Not behind closed doors—or in the back of his pickup or on the couch in her parents’ basement—but in public where others might notice? Yeah. Hannah was a nice girl. If he’d looked across a public room and had thoughts of messing up her perfect hairdo and smudging her perfect lip gloss and wrinkling her perfectly ironed skirt, he would have stopped them. He’d respected her. Liked her. Appreciated things about her other than her body and thesex.

But Scott was now looking at Peyton with a hunger that everyone in the bar could feel. And it didn’t make Kyle think for one second that Scott didn’t respect or like or appreciate her. He simply wanted her. In that primal, natural, she’s-mine way that a man should want a woman.

Kyle looked over at Hannah now. She had her hair up in a twist at the back of her head, but there were tendrils escaping. And that made his fingers literally itch to pull more of it free. And then he straightened as he really took in her appearance for the first time. When he’d first walked in, he’d noticed her. Just her. And the man she was sitting with. But he’d been focused on her reaction to seeing him more than how she looked.

Butnow…

Holy shit. She wore sparkly pink flip-flips, short denim shorts, and a button-up shirt. But the shirt was untucked. And she’d missed a button. And, if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a dollop of whipped cream on her shirt.

She looked hot as hell. She’d preferred dresses and skirts, so he’d rarely seen her in denim shorts, though they were a staple for girls in Sapphire Falls. Hannah had worn them from time to time, of course. Summers were hot here and they were far more practical than dresses for things like yard work. But when she had worn them, they hadn’t been I-can’t-think-straight short. And even if the shirt did have buttons and should look proper, it hugged her breasts, and that one undone button showed a hint of pink satin underneath when she shifted.

She looked a little disheveled, actually. And he knew without a doubt that he wasn’t leaving this bar until he’d messed up her hair, smudged her lip gloss, and wrinkled that shirt.

“I stand corrected,” Derek muttered.

Kyle focused on him again. “What?”

“I have now seen you look at Hannah the way Scott looks at Peyton.”

Kyle frowned. It took denim shorts and spilled whipped cream to make him look at her that way? But that’s not what this felt like. This felt like she’d somehow given him permission to look at her that way. By being a little less than perfect, she’d flipped a switch in his brain.

Scott cleared his throat and turned back to the bar just then. Clearly, he’d missed several minutes there. Kyle was sure he was giving Scott a look that mirrored Derek’s I-know-what-you’re-thinking-aboutlook.

“Shut up,” he told them, lifting hiscup.

Derek chuckled. “I don’t know which of you is more entertaining. Calm, cool, to-do-list Kyle being all grumpy and wrinkled and annoyed, or by-the-book, all-his-shit-together Scott being all gaga over agirl.”

Scott and Kyle looked at each other.

“We really do have our shit together,” Scottsaid.

“Absolutely. You’re as calm and cool as I am,” Kylesaid.

“So why are we friends with Derek again?”

They both looked at the bartender.

“Beats the shit out of me,” Kylesaid.

But Derek wasn’t bothered. He straightened from the bar and gave them a smile. “Fine. Just remember that I also know how to make you not calm and cool. Scott, ask Kyle who the guy is at the computer over in that other corner.”

Right. That’s what he wanted to talk about. “You bastard,” Kylesaid.

Scott glanced at the guy. “Why? Who ishe?”

“He came to town with Hannah. They’re even sharing a room over at Ty’s,” Dereksaid.

They weren’t exactly sharing the room. Hannah had been staying at Alice’s. As far as Kyle knew. From what Alice said, that was the case. But he hadn’t actually asked, “what bed is Hannah sleeping in?” And he hadn’t been back to Ty’s except to change clothes. He wasn’t even using the shower there because he knew Hannah might be, and he wasn’t sure he could handle seeing her bodywash sitting on the edge of the tub. That’s how worked up hewas.

He hated being workedup.

“Why isn’t she staying at her mom and dad’s?” Scott asked.

“Seems that when she didn’t come home as planned, Kyle wasn’t the only one she ticked off,” Dereksaid.

That was…true. Her family had been hurt and upset. They were okay now and had invited her to stay, but Hannah had insisted she wanted to be with Alice as much as possible. Kyle knew that because her dad had told him, not because Hannah had. And again, he was annoyed. This was ridiculous.

“And she brought this guy with her?” Scott asked. “Boyfriend?”

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