I start to choke on my sip of tea. Kenton pats my back, and I wipe my eyes with my napkin, trying to figure a way out of this.
“She was, and in Vegas no less,” Viv confirms. “Maybe we could have her teach us some moves.”
“Oh, God,” I breathe into my napkin, feeling my face heat up.
“There is nothing to be embarrassed about, child. Hell, if I looked like you, I would never wear clothes,” Nancy says, and I hear a few chuckles.
“This is not really happening,” I chant to myself, looking over at Kenton, whose whole body is shaking with the force of his silent laugher. “This is not funny,” I hiss.
“It’s pretty damn funny.” He pulls me to him by the back of my neck, putting his lips to my forehead.
“Stop,” I tell him quietly, pushing at his chest, not wanting to cause a scene in front of his family.
He smiles again and shakes his head. I pull away and look around the table at everyone watching us. My eyes land on Kenton’s dad’s. When his go soft and he smiles, my anxiety eases somewhat.
I found out earlier that not only is Viv sweet, but Kenton’s mom is really funny and his dad is like a giant teddy bear who often shakes his head when his wife says something a little crazy, pulls his daughter Toni into his side to kiss her hair when she’s close, and pats his son on the back when he approves of something he says. I smile back at him before lowering my eyes to my plate.
The rest of dinner is a blur, and before I know it, I’m saying goodbye to everyone and getting into Kenton’s car.
“Did you have a good time?” Kenton asks.
I roll my head in his direction and glare. “Did I have a good time? Really?”
He starts to chuckle as he starts the car. I roll my eyes, laying my head back against the head rest.
“My aunt loves you, and my mom already adores you,” he says softly as I feel his hand on the bare skin of my thigh.
I pick up his hand, putting it back on his side of the console as he pulls out of the driveway. “Your whole family is very sweet,” I tell him, watching as the corner of his mouth lifts up.
“I thought for sure we were making progress,” he says, taking his eyes off the road to look at me with his lips twitching.
“You thought wrong.” I turn my head away from him, watching out the car window as the scenery quickly flies by.
“You work tonight?”
“Yep,” I answer shortly.
“What time?”
“I gotta be there by eleven.” I roll my head on the headrest in his direction.
“You gonna take a nap?” he asks, his long fingers tapping on the steering wheel.
“Probably.” I shrug. “I haven’t really been able to get used to this schedule.”
“Can you get on a different shift?” He sounds concerned.
“If a spot opens up, I can ask to transfer,” I say, shifting against the leather of his seat.
“You gonna do that?”
“Maybe. The thing is…I really need to think about what I’m going to do. I love Vegas and everything, but this is the first place I have felt at home. I love the people and the lifestyle here. I feel a lot more relaxed than I used to, and I think I might see if I can find an apartment and move here permanently.” I don’t know why I just said all that out loud. Up until now, it was just a thought rolling around in my head.
“You have a place to stay as long as you want.”
“Thanks,” I whisper, my heart squeezing.
“You can’t move out for a while though,” he says, and his jaw starts ticking. “I talked to Link, and the cops are still tracking the guy.”
“I know. He told me,” I say, feeling a chill slide down my spine.
“Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
“The whole thing doesn’t even feel real.” I shake my head. Every time I think about what happened, I can’t believe how lucky I was.
“It’s very real. Five people were murdered. Don’t ever forget that,” he growls, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.
“I will never forget it,” I whisper softly, my hand moving to his jaw, wanting to comfort him, but right when I’m about to touch him, I start to pull away, realizing what I’m doing. Before I have a chance to move away completely, his hand catches mine, pulling my fingers up to his mouth, where he places a gentle kiss.
“Stop fighting this,” he says gently. He drops my hand to his thigh, where he covers it with his own. The harnessing warmth of his thigh under my palm has my breaths increasing. “Stop fighting us.”
“There’s no us,” I tell him, shaking my head, trying to pull my hand away.
“You’re so f**king stubborn.” He tightens his hold on me.
“And you’re an ass,” I growl, and the car jerks to the right, onto the side of the road.
My body goes forward when he slams on the brakes. His hand goes to my seatbelt, and as soon as he presses the button, he pulls me over and onto his lap. One hand goes to my waist and the other to the back of my head and into my hair, forcing my head to the side.
“Stop,” I hiss, trying to wiggle free.
“No. Every time I knock one brick out of place, you put ten more in its place,” he seethes.
“Let me go.”
“If I have to keep kissing you to prove there is something between us, then f**k it.” His hand in my hair fists tighter as he pulls my head back, holding me immobile. “I told you before not to f**king lie to me.”