Page 100 of No Way Home
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Cash
BABE. I already promised Theo I’d help him paint since James and Sage are heading off on their babymoon.
Chuck
The painting will wait. I promise to make it up to you.
Cash
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Chapter Thirty-Five
MAGNOLIA
Bowen pickedme up for our date as if he couldn’t comprehend the wordfriend. Like a 1950s heartthrob, he held the car door open. I slid into the back of Cash and Charlie’s Beamer to find a one-pound box of See’s Butterscotch Squares waiting in my seat. A whole pound. Of my very favorite chocolates. Then, to top it off, he had the actual nerve to wear cologne that smelled like smug arrogance bottled by Dior, and a gray button-down that made his stupid-pretty eyes even stupider-pretty.
But I wasn’t going down that easily.
He leaned over, hooking me with those eyes, cologne wafting up my nose. “Are you COPD?” he purred.
Really? He hadnotmemorized medical pickup lines to flirt with me.Just say no. Just say no. Just say no! I chanted in my mind, like he was a drug habit I needed to kick.
I pursed my lips. “Why? Because I take your breath away?” He deflated a little. I tipped my head and smiled. “I’m a third-year med student. I’ve heard them all, myfriend.”
It was like the word was nonsensical. The same way The Swedish Chef from The Muppets didn’t actually speakSwedish, Bowen did not comprehend the language of friendship. Not with me.
“Okay.” He smirked—and it was so cute that my cheeks flushed. “Careful, Magnolia. You keep looking at me like that…” He paused for dramatic effect, waiting to see if I knew this one. “And I’m going to need a crash cart.”
I swooned in my head. But I huffed out a laugh. “Fine. I’ll give you two points for that one.”
His brows flicked up. “Only two? I thought it was a solid five-pointer myself.”
My neurons must’ve staged a mutiny, because my hand decided to flirt without me. Suddenly, it wasn’t in my lap. It was lying on the seat next to his.
He grinned, triumphant, and hooked his pinky around mine. The tiny amount of contact zinged through me like a full body caress.
“Incoming call,” the digital voice in Cash’s Beamer announced. “From Flameo Hotman.”
Flameo Hotman? Like fromAvatar the Last Airbender?
Bowen went stiff as Cash tapped the green check on the touchscreen dash.
“What up, Griff?” Cash hooted.
I scrambled upright just enough to put some space between us. I tried to yank my hand away, like Griffin could see. But Bowen had expected that and clamped down, keeping it there. He gave me a tight-lipped smile as his pointer finger made a quick swirl over the center of my palm.
“’Sup,” Griff said, happily, putting a lump in my throat. It was the first time I’d heard him speak in two years. “What are y’all up to?” he asked, laying his accent on thick.
“Not much.” I saw Cash grinning in the rearview mirror. “Just heading to the movies with?—”
Charlie slapped a hand over Cash’s mouth at the same time that Cash realized what he’d almost done. He moved the call from speakerphone. Pressing it to his ear, he went on likehe hadn’t almost blown our cover. But there was guilt all over his face. “Just heading to the movies with Charlie. We’re going to see the new Pixar.”
Finally, Bowen’s hold loosened, and I jerked my hand back to my lap. I slunk down in my seat like I could hide and focused on taking soft breaths.
“Yeah,” Cash said. “I really want to hear about it, but we just got here.” He flipped the blinker and pulled into the theater parking lot. “Call you when we get out?” They hung up just as Cash put the car in park.
