She tugged at my hair until I looked up at her. “You can’t lie to me, Nick. Or keep things from me. Otherwise, this doesn’t work.” She winced, clearly more than a little uncomfortable.
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” I looked her in the eyes, noting how the blue of them seemed to cast a spell on me I refused to fight.
She leaned down, trying to plant a quick kiss on my lips, but I pulled her on top of me, deepening the kiss. I refused to let her get away that easily. I gripped the back of her neck, spreading my fingers through her blond hair as my mouth tasted her, loving every second of it and never wanting it to end.
“Nick,” she said softly, her breath feathering my lips, and I reluctantly stopped kissing her.
“Yes?”
“What are we doing?” She tilted her head as she stared at me.
“I thought we were kissing,” I said with a smile, and she scrunched her nose.
“You know what I mean. Don’t you?”
“You mean about us. What are we doing, right?”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, something I’d noticed she did when she was uncomfortable. “Yeah.”
Shit. She was nervous.
“Well . . .” I moved her body off of my lap so I could think straight. No guy in his right mind could think at all with a hot girl sitting on his junk. “I like you. A lot. And at this point, I have no desire to see anyone else.”
“At this point?” She swallowed before scooting away from me.
Damn. That didn’t come out right.
“That’s not what I meant. I want to be with you, Jess. I want to date you. Only you. I can’t stop thinking about you, okay?”
“So we’re dating then. And we’re not dating other people?”
“Right. I mean, if that’s what you want.” Please say that’s what you want.
“Is that what you want?” she asked, her expression so unsure that it almost hurt to look at.
I laughed. “Yes, Jess. That’s what I want. I thought I said that already.”
“I know, it’s just . . . you have a reputation, and I like you a lot. Probably more than I should.”
I reached for her hand and pulled her closer. “I like you more than I should too.”
“You do?”
I tugged on her arm, wanting her even closer. When she did as I’d hoped, I pressed a kiss against her cheek.
“Yes.” I kissed her forehead. “You’re fun and you make me laugh.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “And your motivation is sexy as hell. Most girls just want their MRS degree, but not you.”
She pulled away from my lips. “Their what? What the heck is an MRS degree?”
“Spell it out. Say it.” I raised my eyebrows, holding back my laughter as I waited for her to catch the joke.
“M . . . R . . . S . . . Mrs.” She tapped her finger against her lip. “Oh my God, like they’re married? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’ve never heard that before, seriously?” I ran my thumb down her cheek, and her eyes closed in response to my touch. She was so pretty, and I didn’t think she realized at all how pretty she was.
“Huh-uh. Is that a real thing?” she asked, her eyes still closed.
I leaned forward and kissed her lips because I couldn’t resist them anymore. “It’s a very real thing. Some girls only go to school to find a husband.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said with a grimace, and I kissed her lips again. “What a waste of money.”
“Some people have more money than they know what to do with,” I said with a sigh.
“Like your dad.”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah. Like my dad.”
“I hate that he sets you up with girls. It sucks and it’s weird.” Her bottom lip jutted out in a fake pout, and I resisted the urge to run my tongue across it.
“At least it doesn’t happen very often, but I agree with you.”
“What happens if he tries to set you up now? Will you tell him no?” She leaned against my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her lower waist.
“I don’t know, Jess,” I answered honestly.
My relationship with my father was beyond comprehension at times. I felt like I was living in a shadow I could never escape or outgrow. No matter what I did, I was always in the shade of his presence.
Jess moved slightly, angling herself more toward me. “Really? You don’t know?”
“First of all, he doesn’t do it that often. And second, I’ve never been dating anyone seriously when he’s asked me before. So I’ve never had any conflict or reason to say no.”
“Until tonight,” she deadpanned.
“Until tonight.”
“Will you get into trouble for walking out on Carla?”
“I took her out. I did what he asked, but I don’t know. What’s he going to do? Force me to date her?”
Honestly, I had no idea what my father would do, but I prayed he’d let this one slide. I would never date a girl like Carla otherwise. She was a grade-A pain in the ass, a total snob, and I hated even being seen with her tonight. But her dad owned a bunch of television stations, and my dad wanted that account more than he wanted anything else.
“Only if you let him,” Jess said matter-of-factly.
The truth of her words hit me in the gut like a sucker punch.