Page 68 of No More Bad Boys
I feel bad, but Blake’s right—there’s no way our date could continue after this, even if Iwasinterested in Jeff.
I nod to him. “It was nice to meet you, Jeff. Good luck with your games… and Dipsy.” Bringing my gaze back to Blake I add, “AndI’llpay the tab.”
I know exactly what happened to the spark that was missing when I met Jeff—Blake took it. He took them all.
Every spark I’m capable of feeling has apparently been commandeered by the large angry male in front of me.
“Here or my place?” he demands.
“What?”
“We’re going to talk. Here, my place, your place, work… the ladies’ room,” he adds as he notices my eyes dart in that direction.
I heave an aggravated breath. “Fine. We’ll stay here.”
In public. If we go somewhere alone together like his place—or even the ladies’ room—my body will want to forgive him in spite of what my brain says.
I can’t deny I want him. It’s just a fact. Facts are what they are.
But I will not make any more decisions based on feelings. My recent departure from logic has ended in disaster, and I won’t make that mistake again.
It’s logical for me to go ahead and talk to him now, because apparently that’s the only way he’ll ever leave me alone. We both take a seat, and I speak before he can start.
“You and I don’t make sense.” I fold my arms in front of me and discipline my face into an emotionless mask.
Blake leans toward me, speaking in a fierce whisper. “We love each other. What doesn’t make sense about that?”
“With all the men out there in the world whohaven’tdated my sister, it isn’t logical for me to choose to love one whohas.”
“Choose,” he repeats, his voice dripping with derision. “You don’tchoosewho you’re going to fall in love with. You love who you love. And you told me Friday night that you loveme. We belong together, Cadence. If I could go back in time like Kirk did in The City on the Edge of Forever episode, I would—and I’d un-meet Kenley. I’d run when I saw her coming.Youwere the one I was destined to meet. You’re the one I was meant for. ”
I shake my head, staying strong on the outside, while my insides are screamingAmen, that’s right,like some country-church gospel choir.
“I don’t believe in meant to be. And I don’t believe in one person for everyone. It’s just science.” I nod. “Yes, we have good chemistry, but it’s nothing more than that.”
He holds my challenging stare, matching it with a calculating gaze.
Then he rises and leans over the table, grabbing the back of my head in one huge hand and pulling my face to his.
He crushes my lips with a kiss, and in spite of my best intentions, my lips part and my tongue meets his, hungry for him, participating fully in a clear act of mutiny against my brain.
After a minute Blake pulls away and drops back into his seat. His satisfied expression tells me he believes he’s made his point.
Taking a couple of slow breaths, I work to control my voice so that it sounds wholly unaffected.
“Chemistry. Pheremones. That’s all I feel.”
Blake shakes his head in an angry gesture. “You really are Miss Spock if you can turn off all your feelings just like that. I thought there was a human being in there, but maybe you’re all Vulcan.”
As much as I’ve always enjoyed the comparison to my favorite TV character, at the moment it stings.
Of course I have feelings. And this guy stomped all over them by deceiving me. I just stare at him, daring him to get up and go.
Why would he stay if he thinks I’m an emotionless void?
Blake breaks first. His whole body slumps then he leans toward me, reaching across the table.
“Cadence—please. Give me another chance. I’ll never omit another detail about my life. You want to hear about all my mom’s shitty boyfriends and how Whitney and I had to push a dresser in front of our bedroom door every night to keep them from getting in to her… to me?”
