Page 18 of Should've Been Us
“Bingo.” He unlocked his door and saw that the one across the room still stood open. He wasn’t a creep. He wouldn’t have gone through without warning her he was coming in if he’d known she was standing there. He’d thought there was no way she’d be out of the bathroom and yet, as soon as he stepped through the door, he stopped in his tracks. “Woah.”
Lulu shrieked and spun to face him, “Jesus Christ, you about gave me a heartattack!”
He blinked but he couldn’t find the words to tell her that she’d just about given him one. He’d seen her last night in nothing but her lingerie. Lace and satin. She’d rolled her eyes when she told him it covered as much as a swimsuit but looking at her now, like this, he realized that had been a lie. That bra and panties she’d been wearing last night covered a hell of a lot more of her than that skimpy little stringbikini.
God she wasgorgeous.
She’d pulled her hair up into a bun on top of her head, messier than the one she sported when she was dancing. It was still damp from her shower and it looked nearly black in this light. The makeup that had smeared her pretty face when he left was gone. Instead, she looked fresh and wide-eyed, her lashes as dark as her hair and her lips a bubblegum pink. But it was her body that made him lose the ability to speak because never in his life had he seen so much of her on display and his hands practically itched to pull at those flimsy strings and see that suit hit thefloor.
He could have her naked in seconds. His hands on her skin. Her mouth under his. Hecould…
“Connor!”
Her voice snapped him out of his dirty thoughts and he blinked. He refocused on her face and had to hide a wince. She’d clearly said his name more than once from the way she was looking at him. Her hands were on her hips now, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed and he knew that she’d caught him staring and was about to go on thedefensive.
“What?”
“I said, you’re staring.” Shegrowled.
“Sorry.” He fumbled with the coffee cup distractedly, “It’s just… you look… Is that what you’re wearing to thebeach?”
“No, I thought I’d wear a parka.” She rolled her eyes, “Of course this is what I’m wearing. Why? Do you have a problem withthat?”
“No. Just, put on somesunscreen.”
It was a stupid thing to say but it was the only thing he could think of. What was he supposed to say? That yes, he did have a problem with her wearing that swimsuit in public because he’d have to threaten every man on the beach to stay the hell away from her? He couldn’t go there. Not yet. Not when she was clearly itching for a fight so he went with a dumbass sunscreen remark and still, she hissed athim.
“Is that supposed to befunny?”
“What?No.”
“Because the suit is small and I’m showing so much skin? If you want to tell me to cover up, just say it, Connor.” She grabbed a pair of equally skimpy cut-off denim shorts and leaned over, slamming one leg and then the other into them before standing back upright and pulling them over her hips, “I don’t appreciate the snideremarks.”
“I wasn’t being snide.” Hegroaned.
“No?” She slammed a pair of sunglasses onto the top of her head and glared athim.
“No.”
“You’re not going to tell me I look cheap? Or that I don’t have the body for it?” Her glare turned wary, suspicious, “No low blows to throw at me thismorning?”
He swiped a hand over his face, hating that they’d come to this, that all she ever expected from him was to hit her where it hurt so he shook his head and dropped his hands into a shrug, “You don’t look cheap. You look beautiful,Lu.”
She seemed even more taken aback when he was nice to her and he cursed under his breath. Jesus, he had his work cut out for him. It didn’t matter what he said, it was always the wrong thing. She always assumed the worst because that’s what he’d trained her to expect with all of his thinly veiled remarks about her needing to get over Derek and stop letting him toy with heremotions.
Her dark brows knit together and her equally dark eyes studied his face. She opened her mouth like she was going to say something and then closed it. The confusion settled deeper and he had to resist the urge to yell at her for not saying anything. He’d just told her she was beautiful and her reaction was to look at him as if he’d grown two heads. He wanted to kiss the confusion right off her gorgeous face but instead he onlysighed.
“If you’re ready to go, we should get to the beach. We’re gonna be late as itis.”
“I… um, yeah okay.” She finallynodded.
Connor watched as the moment passed them by without her even noticing. She slid her feet into a pair of flip flops and then tipped the sunglasses down over her eyes. She held her hand out and he handed her the coffee cup he’d all but forgotten he was holding. He even ignored the way her fingers brushed his and the way her little pink tongue darted out to swipe at that pretty pink mouth as she pulled away fromhim.
“Well, let’s go then.” Her voice sounded soft and he knew that behind those sunglasses she was still giving him that confused look that annoyed the hell out ofhim.
What was there to be confused about? He’d said she was beautiful. He’d complimented her. He’d gotten her not one but two cups of coffee. He was practically bending over backwards to be nice to her and not start a fight and she hadn’t said thank you for any ofit.
“Are you going to put on a shirt?” His voice was rougher than he’d meant for it to be and she stepped back fromhim.
