Page 80 of The Edge of Summer
He crosses his arms. “I know you can. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
I grin. “Jealous, Chief?” I tease. “Scared one of them might charm me into ditching you tonight?”
This is fun, poking at things that annoy Luke. I have no intention of spending any amount of time with the quartet of barely-legal business-major bros, let alone one-on-one, but the spark of irritation in Luke’s brown eyes is worth a little bit of deception.
I can feel the heat of his body as his chest presses against my back. He places both hands on the edge of the bar, caging me in. I glance left and right, making sure that no one is watching us. Satisfied, I relax back into him. When he leans forward and his lips brush the shell of my ear, I shiver.
“Oh, I’m not jealous, Shutterbug. Only one of us has had his hand up your skirt while your perfect ass was planted on this very bar and it wasn’t any of them.” And then, just to show that he can, he nudges my feet further apart with his boot. “And only one of us has been inside that perfect pussy. So, no, pretty girl. I’m not jealous. I have no reason to be.”
My knees feel a little weak. If most of my weight wasn’t being supported by Luke right now, I am fairly confident I would be a puddle on the floor. I thought I had the upper hand, but he bested me at my own game.
“Alright,” I concede, “you’re not jealous.”
I can feel the curve of his smirk where his lips now rest against the skin behind my ear. I tip my head to the side, giving him better access. He peppers kisses there.
“I should get back to work,” I say. My voice comes out a little breathless.
“You should.”
I don’t move and neither does he. I want to ask what game this is we’re playing, but I’m enjoying myself too much to risk it ending. One wrong move could have this whole thing blowing up in my face.
When I tilt my head again, my eyes catch on a multicoloured string, twisted under the watch band on his left wrist. Without thinking, I grab his arm and pull it closer to my face, as if that will change what I’m seeing. I thought it looked familiar before, but up close I know without a doubt that the braided strings in alternating hues of pink, blue and green are courtesy of my sister.
I drop his arm and spin around, my back pressing into the counter. Instead of his one hand returning to the bar, he places it on the curve of my waist. His thumb fiddles with the tied string of my apron as he looks at me, waiting for an explanation.
This feels so natural, being in his arms like this. I wish we were alone instead of in a restaurant full of people. I…I wish things were different.
“You’re still wearing Sophia’s friendship bracelet,” I say softly. I hold my own wrist, adorned with beaded and string bracelets alike, up for emphasis.
Luke gives me a confused look. “Yeah... Was I not supposed to?”
“Yes.” He quirks a brow. “No. No, I mean— It’s fine. It’sgreat. I’m just...pleasantly surprised.”
More like so blown away, I struggle to find words. Mitchell would never be caught dead wearing a bracelet made for him by my sister, and he was my actual boyfriend.Luke has no reservations about rocking that bracelet. And that means…everything. It’s a simple gesture, but it’s one I would have never expected from my— What the hell do you call the guy who’s not your boyfriend, but you can’t stop thinking about?
Dangerous, my brain supplies.
Dangerous because my heart is recklessly beating to a new tune. Dangerous because I shouldn’t be enjoying our close proximity like this. Dangerous because I can’t have him—not forever. I’m not sure when I started even entertaining the thought of forever, but having these ideas ping-ponging around in my head is not what I need right now.
The sound of glass shattering brings me back to life.Reallife. A life where Luke is only touching me to get those guys to back off.
“I have to go back over there eventually.” I glance toward the group to find an appetizer plate on the floor beside their table, splintered from the fall. “Preferably before someone needs a first aid kit.”
He reluctantly lets me go so I can retrieve a broom. As I sweep up the mess, I can feel his eyes on my back. When I glance over, Luke is leaning against the bar, his arms crossed over his chest. I roll my eyes, and he grins. And it’s pretty. Stupidly pretty. It transforms his face and makes me want to be the reason he smiles every single day.
“We’re having an open house at the station on Sunday afternoon. Showing kids around the equipment and talking about what we do,” he says when I return to his side. “You should bring Sophia.”
I know I shouldn’t read into it, but this is the firsttime he has invited me to something. Well, meandSophia, but still.
I nod. “Sounds like fun. I work in the morning, but we can stop by when I get off.”
My phone begins to vibrate in my back pocket, signalling a call. I pull it out, thinking it might be Sophia’s sitter. Wishful thinking, I guess. Mitchell’s name flashes across the screen, and I wonder for the millionth time why I haven’t blocked his number yet.
“Your ex is still harassing you?” I don’t realize Luke is looking over my shoulder until I glance up to see his raised brow.
I nibble on my lower lip, impatiently waiting for the call to go to voicemail. “He doesn’t text me that much now,” I say with forced levity.
“Phone,” Luke says, holding his hand out.
