Page 16 of One Moment Please
“I’m not looking at your dick!” And, of course, my gaze goes right to his crotch, but I yank my attention to the front of the vehicle before he catches me.
“It seems like you’re looking at my dick,” he mumbles cockily.
“Would you get over yourself?” I cross my arms and focus on the window. “Good God, you are the worst! You could actually be hot if anyone could see past your horrible arrogance.”
Silence envelops the car, so I steal a glance at him. His full attention is now on me.
His brows lift when our eyes meet. “Did you say I’m hot?”
My lips thin. “I said youcouldbe hot.”
He shakes his head smugly. “First, you notice my dick, and now you’re noticing my hotness. This is a strange way of flirting. Some might even call it creepy.”
“You want to talk about creepy flirting?” I cross my arms over my sprinkle tits, trying to ignore the fact that he’s totally checking me out. I stupidly, idiotically, moronically like it even though I’ve clearly decided to hate him for all eternity. “You’re the one who’s been watching me for weeks in the cafeteria. Sounds a lot like stalking.”
“Stalking?” He scoffs.
“Maybe I should’ve been the one to call security when you approached me today.” I lean into his space with a renewed defense that I can’t believe I didn’t come up with before. “I could’ve told them I had a creepy old man staring at me like a piece of meat from across the cafeteria for weeks, and I was concerned about my safety.”
His eyes narrow with wicked promise. “Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart. It’s patronizing.”
He ignores my reply. “You’re a very testy person, you know that?”
“I’m only testy to people who are testy to me.”
“Oh, you haven’t even begun to see testy from me,sweetheart.”
“Stop calling me that! And oh, my God, are you kidding? You were testy to me at the cafeteria, and then again at the bar tonight. We’re perfect strangers, and you’ve been a moody, rude, controlling jackass! And then you change my drink order without my permission, so I’ll add chauvinist to the long list of your glowing attributes.”
By the time I finish, my chest heaves and I’m too aware of how this conversation has sobered me up. My buzz is gone. My hotness vibe from earlier is gone. Everything that could’ve been good today is now gone because of this guy.
Why is it taking so long to get home?
Josh shakes his head. “Of course, I must be a chauvinist to care about your well-being enough to get you a water. I didn’t realize hydration would offend you so deeply. What marginalized part of society do you belong in to be offended by H2O?”
“The kind who can decide when the hell she needs water for her own damn self!”
Josh rolls his eyes and closes the space between us. “Well, your winner of a boyfriend certainly wasn’t stepping in to help you. Is that really the kind of man who turns you on? He’s a grade A douchebag, and you could do better.”
My jaw drops just as the car pulls up to the address Josh put into the app. He opens the door to get out, and I follow because I refuse to let him have the last word. I slam the door behind me, rage simmering in my veins. “Dean is not a douchebag, and he’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend. And he’s a good friend. You don’t even know him! Why are you so judgmental of people you don’t even know?”
Josh steps into my space, his tall frame bowing over me as a halo shines behind him from the yellow streetlight. “He doesn’t look at you likejust a friend.”
“He’s a flirt!” I exclaim, my eyes widening as I look up and realize Josh seems bothered by this. “Are you…jealous?” A flurry of excitement shoots through my veins at that notion.
“Don’t act like a child,” he growls, his eyes narrowing on me. “I just can’t help but notice that he let you get into an Uber with a perfect stranger.” Josh points in the direction of the Corolla that’s just pulled away. “If you weremine, I’d never let you out of my sight at night.”
His words are a sharp punch to my libido that’s been dormant for the past year. I press my hand against my thigh, startled over the strange reaction his words cause.
What is going on? Why am I turned on by a little word likemine?
I should hate his tone. I should hate him. He’s arrogant, he’s accused me of being mental, and now he made me lose my Uber. Feminists all over the world would weep over the involuntary response my body is having to his possessive words.
I shove away the arousal to the dark corners of my body. “I could never be yours.”
I bite my lip and hope he didn’t notice how my voice got all breathy at the end, but the wicked glimmer in his eyes indicates that he sees right through me.
