Page 22 of Hot Response
His phone, which he’d set on the bar, buzzed. He picked it up and sent a quick text and, although he tilted the screen slightly away from her, she had excellent peripheral vision and was able to read an earlier text in the conversation.
Your EMT’s sitting at the bar. Alone.
Averting her gaze as heat crept up her neck, Cait picked up a chip and dredged it through cheese sauce. Then she waited until he set his phone down to pop it in her mouth so, no matter what he said next, she’d have as much time to answer as it took her to chew and swallow. And she chewed slowly.
Somebody had sent him a text message letting him know she was there. Somebody in the pub right now. And that meant somebody knew he was interested in running into her again.
It was the opposite of telling her he’d join herif he was freeand she had no idea what to make of it.
Your EMT...
“You okay?”
Once she’d swallowed and was sure she wouldn’t say something stupid, like asking about the text message, she nodded. “Yeah, why?”
“I don’t know. You seem quiet tonight. I mean, not that you’ve talked to me a lot, but... I don’t know. You seem quiet. Rough day?”
“I’ve had worse.” She sighed, giving in to the weariness instead of expending energy she didn’t have on maintaining the illusion everything was awesome. “But I’ve had better, too.”
“You want to talk about it?”
She didn’t, really. It was nice that he recognized that she’d had a bad day—that he reallysawher—and that he cared, but she didn’t want to verbally wallow in it.
But Gavin may as well know right up front that she wasn’t a fun party girl looking for a good time. She had responsibilities—hersandher mother’s—and it would no doubt be a fast way to put an end to the confusing chemistry between them. So she gave him an abridged version of her current situation, starting with Duke’s death and her moving home, and ending with her mother sitting in the middle of her bedroom, crying into a pile of Duke’s shirts.
“Has she talked to a professional?” he asked when she was done.
“She saw a therapist twice, but then refused to go back. She said talking about Duke was too hard and no amount of discussing it would make it hurt less.” She shrugged. “Honestly, I was surprised she went at all. I pushed the subject, but I can’t make her do it.”
“I’m sorry it’s rough on you, but family means everything, so it’s good that you’re there for her. And good for your mom. Letting go has to be hard, but it’ll probably help her move on.”
Cait wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t want to spend the little time she had with Gavin talking about her family. Again. They’d pretty much taken over her life and become the only thing she had to talk about anymore.
And instead of looking at the time on his phone or giving some other sign he wanted to run for the hills, he actually turned toward her on the stool, leaning his elbow on the bar.
“You have to take care of yourself, though, too.”
He actually sounded interested. And even a little concerned. “There’s not a lot of time or energy left for me. Maybethat’swhy these taste like the best nachos I’ve ever had.”
“What about some girlfriends? Maybe you could have one of those girls’-night-out things or whatever.”
“We’ve talked about it. But, to be honest, I want to relax more than I want to go out and have fun.” His brow furrowed, and she realized she was being a drag, but it felt so good to admit out loud how much of a drain it was. “I’m sorry. It’s just...hard. I love my mother and my brother, but being back home is hard. There’s only one bathroom. And only one television which, to be honest, might be even worse than only having one bathroom. And they filled my old room with so much crap, I feel like I’m sleeping in a storage unit.”
“If you need a night away, just say the word.Mi casa es su casa.”
She appreciated the effort—whether it was a kindness or an attempt to get her alone at his place—but he didn’t get it. A night out would be nice, but what she really wanted was space. Quiet. She wanted to be alone. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“I’m serious. You can come over and I’ll show you where everything is and how to use the remote control, and then I’ll go crash at Grant’s for the night. You can watch whatever you want. I’ve got menus for every delivery place in driving distance. And you can take a long bubble bath—uh, bring your own bubble stuff, though—or read or just sit on the couch and do nothing. It’s a pretty decent couch.”
Cait stilled, letting his words sink in. Hewastrying to get her alone. Literally. “I... Are you serious? You’ll just let me have your apartment for a night?”
“Sure. It’s not that big of a deal. Wouldn’t be the first night I’ve spent on Grant’s couch.”
It was that big of a deal. Maybe not to him but, right now and in this place in her life, it was everything to Cait. The idea of a night all to herself almost made her cry, but there was no way she was shedding tears in front of Gavin. “You’re not afraid I’ll snoop around and find your secret porn stash?”
His eyes widened for a second, and then his expression settled into a look that Cait’s grandmother would have called cheeky. “Are porn stashes supposed to be a secret? I can write the passcode for my laptop down on a sticky note for you before I go if you want.”
He was joking, of course. And even if he wasn’t, there was no way she could say that, yes, she’d like the passcode for his laptop. But damn, she was curious about what turned Gavin on. What images on that laptop screen would make his heart rate increase and his dick harden until he wrapped his fingers around it, stroking the hard length until he found release.
