Page 26 of Coming Home

“It’s fine.” I cross my arms and continue to ignore her. I can’t be around her and not beg. Shit. I’m not making an ass out of myself.

“Damn it.” She stomps her foot on the ground. The soft sole of her shoe barely makes a sound.

I crack one eye open and watch her.

“I’m trying to apologize.”

“Apology accepted.” I close the open eye and turn my head away from her. Fucking go. “How long’s it going to be?”

She yanks the curtain closed. Thank God. I swallow and open my eyes. Shit. She’s still here. I close my eyes again. The desire to jump up and leave is intense. I can grab a pair of scissors on the way out the door.

She marches over to the bed. “Damn it, Trey,” she hisses.

“What?”

“Look at me.”

She’s beautiful. Red hair flowing around her shoulders in soft curls. Snapping green eyes shooting darts in my direction. Foot tapping. Sexy as fuck.

“I shouldn’t have left.”

I lift my arm and curl my hand around her wrist. When I tug her forward, she moves closer. “No. You shouldn’t have.”

Tears fill her eyes. “I don’t know what to do.”

“What do you want to do?”

“For the last two days, I was sure I never wanted to see you again. Not because I don’t want to but because we can’t go back. The past is the past.”

She’s right. We can’t go back to the two teenage kids we were. We’re not the same people. But the chemistry is still there. “What about the future?”

“I don’t know.” She licks her lips.

“Go out with me tonight. We’ll go out on one date. No strings. No pressure. Let’s see if anything is still there. Something new we could build on.”

“Okay.” She nods. “One date, and if we don’t have anything in common, we’ll walk away.”

“Sure thing, Princess.” I pull her fingers to my lips and kiss the back of her hand.

“No sex.” She jerks her arm backward.

“Why?” I wrinkle my nose and frown. “The sex is phenomenal. Why would we ignore that part?”

She chuckles. “Because that fades.”

“Bullshit.” I roll my eyes. “I’m pretty sure I’m still going to want to get in your panties when I’m eighty, but we’ll do it your way.”

She slaps my upper arm. “One date. No sex. If we’re still compatible, we’ll negotiate from there.”

“Perfect. I’m an expert negotiator.” I place both arms behind my head and wink at her.

“I bet you are.” Her eyes trail from the soles of my biker boots to my face. “Damn, you are too fucking hot.”

“I don’t think you’re going to make it.”

“Oh, I’ll make it. But will you?” She winks and turns on her heel.

“You want to make a wager?”

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