Page 27 of The Obvious Check

“We should?” My voice cracks with surprise.

“Yeah. You should come with me sometime. I’ll make sure you won’t fall.”

I swallow down the bitter taste in my mouth. Why is he so persistent with me? I essentially stood him up and all it took was a few words of apology for me to get back on his good side.

I’m not worth it, but every time he looks at me, I feel like he’s seeing something I’m not.

“That is, if your boss will give you time off.”

“Yeah,” I drawl out.

“Don’t worry, I’ll speak to him. It’s Luke, right?”

Luke?

Wait, does he know?

My mouth gapes open and I don’t know what to say to him.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think Beardy McBeardson owns a diner. Last I heard he owned a real estate company, and a few other enterprises.” The way his eyes cut into me makes my blood freeze solid in my veins.

“Uh.” Eloquent. Fucking eloquent.

“It’s fine if you work for him. I don’t care. What I do care about is you getting some time off, though.” Even though his voice is casual, his eyes are anything but.

“T-time off?” I stammer like I’ve never heard the concept before.

He wants to talk to Luke. He knows. Fuck. He already knows.

How long?

And if he knows about the club, then what else does he know?

Does he know about my car? About Adley?

My cheeks burn hot enough to melt steel.

What if he knows about how I picture his face when I’m on that stage. How I’ve created an entire fantasy life with him to get me through the darkest nights. Nights where I imagine his hands on my body, his mouth tracking a hot path down my neck and his weight pressing me into sheets instead of the cold leather of my car’s backseat?

“You know what? I think I have to go.”

I pack away my things as quickly as humanly possible and hop over the seats in front in a desperate bid to escape this conversation.

I can’t face this. Not now.

Chapter 8

Savannah skitters past me out of the room before I can even get my bag packed, and I curse. How many times is this girl going to do this to me? How many times am I going tolether get away with it before I pin her down and make her listen?

All because I mentioned her boss. I knew better than to do it, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d come to class angry about Luke, ready to question her about everything and all the theories I had, but that went out the window when she smiled at me. One flash of those green eyes and I turned into a fucking teenager with a first crush.

He’s got her on the hook. I know how this guy operates. I’ve been on the receiving end of his ‘loan’ proposals before. Once, he offered me one that would have me paying off a debt from him until I was in my fifth year of hockey. Thankfully, I wasn’t desperate enough to accept it.

Could I say the same for Savannah, though?

She seemed like the type looking for any kind of break and when Luke slithers into your life, it’s hard to say no to the diamonds he dangles in front of you. By the time you realizethey’re just glass, you’re already buried in debt up to your eyeballs.

When she sat down and gave me a weak hello, I knew this conversation was going to need more time, so I planned on waiting. Unfortunately, I only waited for all of two minutes. Like I said, I can’t help myself with her. She’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and I want to peel back every single layer until I find the truth underneath.

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