“See you at home, baby,” he whispers, making it sound almost like a threat. He smiles, showing off the small dimple that fascinates me.
I inhale a deep breath and nod. My insides are going crazy, my heart beating double-time.
I walk down the hall towards the nurses’ station, trying to ignore the fact I can hear his boots behind me. I spot Tara, and her eyes go big when she looks over my shoulder. When they come back to me, she smiles an odd smile and I shake my head in a slight move, letting her know to hush.
As soon as I make it to the desk, a bell goes off and I practically yell that I’ll go check on the patient. Tara doesn’t say anything. She just nods, and I make my way quickly down the hall to the patient’s room. I take my time in the room, making sure everything’s taken care of before going back to the nurses’ station. I walk around the corner and see that the area’s empty except for Tara. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“Who the hell is Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome, and where the hell did he take you?” Tara asks as soon as I take a seat. I try to think of a way I can avoid answering that question before looking at her. “Please tell me you are sleeping with him regularly.”
“Oh God.” I cover my face with my hands.
“What? Oh no… Please tell me he isn’t one of those guys who look all hot and yummy, but then you get to the package and get a surprise…and it’s not a good one.” She sits back in her chair, shaking her head in disappointment.
“He’s just a guy who’s been letting me stay with him,” I tell her, hoping she’ll drop it.
“So, you’re not together?” Her eyebrows come together in confusion. “I would’ve sworn he was your man with the show he put on earlier.”
“Nope.” I shake my head frantically.
“Sooo…you live together, but you’re not together?”
“Yes.”
“How the hell can you live with someone who looks like that and not jump their bones?” she asks, dumbfounded.
“He’s an ass. Trust me—it’s not as hard as you think it is.”
“I can see that.” She nods in understanding, her eyes searching my face. “You know he wants you, right?”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Oh hell yeah, he does. You should have seen the way he was looking at you and then the way he was watching your ass when you guys were walking down the hall. He wants you, girl, and he doesn’t look like he is the kind of guy you can put off for very long. Not only that, but why in the world would you want to put him off in the first place? If I were you, I would be waiting for him naked on my hands and knees when he got home and walked through the front door.”
“Can we not talk about this?” I ask pleadingly. The images that are now in my head of Kenton and me have started a small throbbing in my core.
“Are we still going out Saturday?” she asks, reading my face.
“Yes,” I respond immediately.
“Good. I need to get out.”
“Me too,” I say softly before getting back to work. The rest of the night I spend quietly trying to think of a way to avoid going home.
*
“Oh my God, you have to try this,” Tara says, shoving a drink in my face.
We got to the club about ten minutes ago, and after making it inside, we fought our way to the bar for a drink and to wait for Derik and his boyfriend to show up.
“What is it?” I ask, leaning away from her before taking the drink from her hand.
“An All-American Root Beer. It’s so good. You can’t even taste the Jack,” she promises.
I put the straw to my lips before taking a small sip. She’s right; it’s sweet and I can’t taste any kind of alcohol. “It’s really good!” I shout close to her ear.
She takes the drink back from me, lifting it up to the bartender while holding up two fingers. He nods in understanding as Tara sits back down next to me.
“So, how have you and Mr. Hot Guy been?”
I bite my lip and think about that question. How are Kenton and me? Well, I’m still trying to avoid him, and he seems more determined than before to not let me avoid him. Before, he would leave me notes or texts, but now, I have to deal with him face to face.
Like last night. I went downstairs to get something to eat, and when I walked into the kitchen, he was there. I couldn’t exactly leave without making it obvious that I was dodging him, so I went about making myself a sandwich. The only problem was that, every time I turned around, his body would rub against me or his mouth would come close to my ear when he spoke. No matter what I did, he was there in my space. By the time I left the kitchen, I was a huge mess and had to take another shower. I still can’t figure out why he affects me the way he does.
“Earth to Autumn.” Tara snaps her fingers in front of my face.
“Sorry,” I apologize, shaking the thoughts away.
“So are you going to answer me?”
“We’re fine.”
“Just fine?” She raises an eyebrow.
“I don’t know, honestly,” I tell her with a shrug as the bartender puts two drinks in front of us. I slide my money across the bar before Tara has a chance to pay for them.
“Well, he looked pissed tonight when I picked you up.”
I take a drink and smile around my straw. He was pissed. I had spent most of the day in bed. Then I’d gone down to the kitchen around five and made a frozen pizza. Kenton wasn’t around, so I went back upstairs after eating. I read for a while then sent an e-mail to Sid, who I couldn’t bring myself to call. Around eight, I started getting ready to go out, knowing that Tara would be there to pick me up at nine thirty.