Page 95 of Scoring the Player
Steven is attentive. Not overly touchy in a sleazy way, but enough that I can tell he’s really into her. Everything I know about him is that he’s a decent guy, which is super annoying right now. I wish he were an asshole, or crossing some line, so I could swoop in and tell him to get lost. He’s exactly the kind of guy I might have seen her with a month ago, but now the thought of anyone else touching her or kissing her has a red mist falling in front of my eyes.
At last call, I push out of the bar and take a deep breath of the cool, night air. Three hours of torture. Lucas and I pause at the end of the building where the sidewalk meets the parking lot. I hardly drank, but I’m jumpy and on edge. Electricity hums under my skin. There’s no way I can go home and go to bed.
“Teddy can be here in five or there’s an Uber a block away,” Lucas says, staring down at his phone.
“Take the Uber,” I tell him, tapping my thumb against my thigh. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He starts walking across the parking lot, but he stares at me as he goes. “This about your ex and her new guy?”
“Nope,” I say and backtrack toward the bar doors.
It’s not about her and Steven at all.
33
DAHLIA
“Steven likes you,”Daisy singsongs as we wash our hands in the sink inside the restroom at the Prickly Pear.
“He barely knows me,” I say back, but my stomach does a little flip anyway. Do I even want him to like me? I don’t know. I’m so confused. Running into Felix tonight didn’t help. He seemed so…hurt or angry. But I don’t understand why. He walked out on me the other night. He’s the one that has always said he didn’t want more.
Daisy’s phone pings in her pocket. She quickly dries her hands and pulls it out.
“It’s Vi,” she says. “She and Gavin are leaving. I need to run out with them. I left my purse in Gavin’s car. Do you want me to wait?”
“No, go ahead. Jane and I are going to grab an Uber.”
“Bye.” She hugs me. “Tonight was so much fun.”
“It was,” I agree.
“See you tomorrow.”
I take an extra second in front of the mirror to finger comb my hair, then pull out my phone. I could tell myself I’m not looking to see if Felix texted, but that’s a lie. I miss him. Being at the same place and barely interacting just made it all too real. This is our new normal and it kind of sucks.
Chastising myself, I shove my phone back in my purse and head out of the restroom. A hand wraps around my wrist and tugs me farther back into the dark hallway. I yelp seconds before his familiar scent envelops me.
“Felix.” My heart is beating way too fast as I look up into his steely blue eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Something I’ve wanted to do all night.” His hands come up and frame my face, and he covers my mouth with his.
I gasp in surprise, but my hesitation is short-lived because my body reacts all on its own. One more kiss. One more touch.
I wrap my arms around his neck and lift up onto my toes to deepen the kiss. He continues to caress my face so tenderly. Long fingers splayed out over my cheeks and the thumb on his right hand holds my chin in place as he sweeps his tongue into my mouth.
I missed this. Missed him.
Finding a single thread of restraint, I pull back. “Wait. Wait. What are we doing?”
“I’m kissing you and thinking about putting my hand under this tight little skirt,” he says, brushing his lips over mine again.
“We broke up.”
“Technically, we weren’t ever really together.”
“Felix.” I take a tiny step back.
“Dahlia.” He drawls my name out in that way that drives me crazy.
