Page 17 of Break Me
“I mean, I already told you I flunked a semester last year. You’ve already got the gold,” I point out.
Benji takes all of our cards and taps them against the table, straightening them. Then he starts to shuffle, but his eyes are on me.
“Yeah, but you didn’t squirm about that.” His eyes are hooded. “Tell me something else. Something uncomfortable.”
I shift in my seat, crossing one leg over the other. “You first.”
He shuffles the deck again, then straightens the cards and sets them down between us, clasping his hands on the table as he stares at me.
“That’s not fair, Ava Culwen.”
I start to smile, but then freeze. How does he know my last name? The way he’s smiling at me, he knows what he just did. He knows I didn’t give it to him, and he wants me to know he found it out anyway.
I glance to the kitchen, wondering when Riley will be back.
“How did you know that?” I ask him, and I’m annoyed my voice comes out as a whisper.
He just keeps looking at me, silent.
“And by the way,” I continue, leaning forward, “why were you at Campbell? Are you a student? Why were you waiting for Riley?” I mean, if we’re asking inappropriate questions, I might as well join the fray. “And you said you’d tell me how you got my number,” I remind him, even though I’m pretty sure he’s not going to tell me.
He brushes his thumb over his lip, runs his tongue over his white teeth and then picks up his beer. For a second, I don’t think he’s going to answer me anything I asked.
But before he brings the beer to his lips, he does.
“I graduated a long time ago,” he admits. “I’m twenty-eight, Ava. And as for me and Riley…” He drinks from the can. “Don’t worry about that.”
“Who said I was worried?” I counter.
“You just asked,” he points out, shrugging. His shirt hugs his biceps and I have to force my gaze back to his eyes.
Silence stretches between us, then he he leans back again and cocks his head. I see him run his hand over his thigh. “Come sit with me.”
I blink, instinctively clenching my thighs tighter. He watches me, letting me decide, but there’s a smirk on his face as if he knows what I’m about to do.
And fuck me if I don’t do it.
I stand up, take a step, and before I can decide how best to sit with him, he pulls me down in his lap, my back to his chest, his arm wrapped around my waist.
His body is warm, hard, and he smells like weed and something else, masculine and heady. It takes everything in me not to bury my head in his neck and breathe him in. But I don’t. I keep my legs crossed, aware of his fingers grazing my waist, his other hand curled around his beer.
I swallow, hard, but it’s almost easier to talk to him this way. Not facing him.
“I just wanna know what the deal is,” I say, my words coming out as a whisper. “You’re at her condo, you live across the street, but her fiancé is in Toronto, and you deny his calls but you’re supposedly his BFF?” I shrug, drumming my fingers on the table in front of us. “Doesn’t make sense.”
“I’ve found most fun things don’t.” I can hear the smile in his words.
“Fun?” I ask, narrowing my eyes and turning to glare at him. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you two, like, fucking behind your best friend’s back?”
They don’t seem like they’re fucking but he’s here, and it’s just…weird. They’re both strangely intense. Even with his fingers skimming my dress, his chest against my back…I feel as if I’m might fucking combust at any moment.
The vodka is getting to me.
“Let me tell you something, Princess,” Benji says, leaning in toward me, the only thing between us my dress and his t-shirt. His words caress my ear and I have to force myself to actually focus on what he’s saying as his fingers tighten around my waist. “Not everything needs to live up to your moral Southern Baptist code of life.” He leans back, picking up his beer again. “This might seem weird to you. But it’s really not that difficult. I’m watching out for her.”
I run a hand through my hair, ready for another drink. I’ve lost track of which one I’m on. “I’m not Southern Baptist,” I correct him, not looking at him. My parents are. My university is. But I’m completely undecided on the whole religious thing. “But this is Briar.” I roll my eyes. “What the hell does she need you watching out for her for?” I glance again at the kitchen, hoping Riley doesn’t walk through while we’re discussing her. She seems very nice. I just don’t know why she’s hanging out with a guy like Benji.
And what the hell would she think if she sees me sitting on his lap?
