Page 116 of Liars

“Hmm, I prefer the difficult way, too. Makes things challenging, and you know I like a challenge on and off the field.”

She snapped her fingers. “Ah, right, football. Isn’t the big game this weekend? You should try putting as much focus into preparing for that as you do annoying me.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Her stomach rumbled loud enough for me to hear. My eyes shifted down her body before moving slowly back to her face, taking in the pinkening of her cheeks. Why did she have to look so damn good? Why did I want to shove her against the wall and possess those lips? I’d wanted this irrational craving for her to have been satiated, but if anything, my need for her had tripled.

Her hand went to cover her belly. She had the kind of stomach I wanted to bite, lick, and kiss until she trembled. “I skipped breakfast this morning,” she explained when she really didn’t need to.

She wasn’t the only one hungry except it wasn’t food I wanted. “Of course, you did.” I grabbed her wrist, dragging her down the hall and leading her to the exit.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Out.”

She shuddered from the cold. I glanced back, taking in the thin sweater she wore. Not very winter appropriate. Shrugging out of my hoodie, I tugged it over her head. Once she had her arms through the sleeves, I reached for her hand, lacing my fingers with hers. Somehow, it felt like the most natural thing to be holding hands with her.

She looked at our joined fingers, and I figured she was seconds away from protesting, but then her arm relaxed, her fingers clinging to mine.

I don’t think I’d ever held hands with a girl at school. Not since the second grade, and it had me questioning what was wrong with me. It was easy to tell myself it was so she didn’t take off on me and I could keep a close eye on her. Perhaps some truth lay in the excuse, but only partially.

“Aren’t you going to get detention for skipping?” she asked.

“The starting quarterback the week before the championship game? Not likely.” We stopped at my SUV. Raking my fingers through my hair, I opened the car door for her. “This is so annoying,” I muttered at this weird feeling fluttering in my chest.

“What’s annoying? Me?” She jerked her hand away from mine. “I didn’t ask you to drag me out here.”

I maneuvered my body so she couldn’t bolt, giving her no choice but to climb into the passenger seat. “Get in, little raven. Unless you want me to push you up against the car and show you just how annoying I find you right now.”

She stared at me, confusion lines wrinkling above her brows as she tried to figure me out. “Is annoying a metaphor for something else?” She bravely or stupidly stepped closer as if to test her theory.

My eyes darkened as they darted to her lips. I was thinking about kissing her. It was all I was thinking about. “Do you thirst for danger?”

Her head angled to the side, those light-blue eyes glimmering. “Not until I met you.”

Curbing my needs wasn’t something I tended to do, especially when it was clear we wanted the same thing, but I had to be smart, careful, cautious, and a dozen other warnings when it came to her. “You might change your mind after you’ve eaten. Hunger can make people do crazy things.” Closing the door, I walked around the car and got behind the wheel.

“We’re eating?” she asked as I slid into the seat.

My seat belt snapped into place. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

There was no denying it since her stomach decided to make it obvious she was. “I guess I can suffer a meal in your presence.”

The corner of my lips twitched. “You didn’t seem to mind sharing my bed.”

She let a small gasp before her mouth settled into a hint of a smile. “I had a moment of insanity.”

I pushed the start button, starting the SUV’s engine and cranking the heat. The place I had in mind wasn’t far from school, but there was a chance we wouldn’t make it back in time for our next class. I hoped she was prepared to skip.

A few minutes later, I turned into Pa’s Place, a local diner.

Kaylor stared at the homey, small establishment. “No club?” she joked with a straight face.

“The last thing either of us needs is booze and half naked women.” My self-control hung by a thread. If we went to one of my father’s clubs, we wouldn’t head to the bar but to one of the back rooms.

“So, you opted for Pa’s instead.”

“Is that a problem?”

She shook her head. “Are you kidding? I could devour an entire buffet of food right now.”

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