Oh, god. Now I remember what he said. He just wanted to make me jealous. In the heat of the moment, I had completely forgotten about it.
“Wait,” I say, leaning back. “You were here with her just to make me jealous? Is that what this is all about?”
He cocks his head. The playful smile he gives me almost ignites my heart, if I didn’t feel like a backstabber.
“Basically … yeah,” he says, and then he laughs it off as if it’s no big deal.
“What? No, no, no.” I push him away. “I can’t do that. What about that girl? You can’t do that to her.” I make a face.
“Relax,” he says, keeping me close in his arms so I don’t run off. “She knew what she was getting herself into.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
But before he can answer, she’s already appeared right in front of me. Chris rummages in his pocket and takes out a five-dollar bill, handing it to her.
“Thanks,” she says.
“No, thank you,” he says with a wink.
And then she saunters off.
Amazed, I blink a couple of times. “What the hell was that?”
“Nothing …” he muses.
“Did you just pay her?”
“I might have bribed her to go out with me …” He shrugs.
“Are you fucking serious?” I thought my jaw couldn’t drop further, but I was wrong.
“Em.” Chris grabs my shoulders and redirects my attention toward him. “I had a good reason.”
“That is some fucked-up shit, Chris,” I say, frowning at him.
“I know, but I did what I had to do to get your attention.”
“Well, you got it all right.” I roll my eyes. “But not in a good way.”
“I can make it good …” He grabs my waist and pulls me in again. “Real good.”
“Chris … I …”
“Stop. I know you liked that … the way I touched you …” His hand slides down to my ass, and I can’t say that I hate it, but I don’t love it, either. It just feels so wrong. “The way I kissed you.” So, so wrong.
“You bribed a girl to dance with you so you could make me jealous.”
“I bribed a girl to make you jealous because I want you. And I’ll do pretty much anything to get what I want.” His fingers dig into my pants, and I think I can almost hear him growl.
“Even being a filthy piece of shit …” I mumble.
“Em, I’d roll around in shit then swim all the way across the fucking ocean, steal a bike to ride across the country, pilot a fucking plane, and then crash-land in your garden just to be with you.”
I try not to laugh, but I couldn’t hold it. Laughter bursts from my lungs, but I try to stop it as quickly as I can, because I shouldn’t be laughing right now. I should be mad, angry with myself for allowing him to seduce me again. Dammit.
When I regain my senses, I sigh and turn around, ready to walk out.
“Where are you going?” Chris asks, grabbing my arm.
“Back to my friend.”
“But we were having a good time together,” he says.
“Chris …” I jerk my arm free. “You know how I feel about it.”
This makes his brow twitch. I know he knows what I’m talking about. No matter how much time passes or how many times he tries to kiss me, it won’t change what happened … and that he ran away from what he did like a coward.
“Besides, it’s her birthday,” I say to break the ice. “Someone’s gotta keep her company.”
“Someone already is.” Chris points at Alyssa.
I notice she’s chatting with none other than the girl Chris was just dancing with. “How …”
But then Alyssa looks up and waves at me, and the girl next to her smiles.
“They know each other,” Chris says. “Alyssa actually invited her to her birthday as well.”
Chapter 17
Emily
“What?” My jaw drops, and I spin on my heels and tap on Chris’s chest. “She’s part of the setup? You knew that, didn’t you?”
“Your friend just wanted to give us a little nudge, that’s all.”
Angry as hell, I stomp toward Alyssa. “Seriously?”
“Sorry.” She laughs a bit. “But you have to admit, it helped.”
“So this was all a setup,” I repeat.
“Maybe … I mean, we’re friends, and I got a text from her saying she got approached by Chris before you even showed me that picture. So I invited both for my birthday celebration and look what happened …” She’s smiling like crazy, as if she’s the one responsible for getting Chris and me back together or something.
“How did you even get his number?” I ask.
“She gave it to me after texting him a bit. When she sent a picture of him, I couldn’t stop myself. I kind of asked her to play along while I set you two up …”
“You sneaky bitch …” I snap, shaking my head.
She shrugs. “This sneaky bitch just did you a favor.”
“Grr … I’ll get you,” I growl. “Somehow … you’re gonna get one hell of a payback.”
“Well, this is one birthday I won’t forget then.” She chuckles and sips her margarita. “You go have fun with Chris.”
“What? Why would I?”
She leans in. “Because you two obviously want each other.”
“But he’s a lying asshole,” I whisper back.
“Who cares? Just go along with it; maybe you’ll eventually like it.” She gives me a playful slap. “Let it go, let it go!” she sings, making me cringe.
“Okay, stop,” I say.
She dances a little to her own song. “I won’t stop singing unless you go and have fun.”
“But it’s your birthday,” I say, fighting the temptation to plug my own ears.
“Can’t hold it back anymore!” She keeps on singing.
“Okay, okay!” I say, as she twirls me around.
She pushes me straight into Chris, who’s right behind me. “Hey, beautiful.”
When my hand touches his chest by accident, my cheeks flush, and it makes me feel weird because I don’t normally get all hot and bothered by simply touching anyone, let alone Chris. Damn. It must’ve been the kiss.
“Wanna go somewhere else?” he says.
“No, we’re celebrating her birthday,” I say, clearing my throat.
“I’m fine,” Alyssa says with a smirk. “Like I said, go and have fun.”
“But,” I stammer, pleading her not to push me. I’m way too scared of where it’ll take me if I don’t hit the brakes right now.
“No buts,” Alyssa says. “I’ll be fine. I’ve got her, too.” She puts her arm around her friend’s shoulders and pulls her closer. “We’ll have plenty of fun together. Go on.”
“Yeah, Em. C’mon,” Chris says, grabbing my hand.
“Go with him,” Alyssa mouths at me, and I look back at her as Chris drags me through the crowd.
“Where are we going?” I ask him.
He glances at me over his shoulder. “Somewhere more private,” he says with a grin.
He pulls me out of the club and out to the street, and the cold makes me shiver quite a bit. Chris immediately takes off his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders. “Better?”
I nod, and he guides me toward the alley next to the club, where a bright red motorcycle stands at the ready.
“Is that yours?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says as he gets on and leans back. “C’mon.”
“Oh, no.” I shake my head.
“What?” He frowns. “Afraid?”
“No, I’m not,” I lie, swallowing away my fear. “Don’t we have to wear special clothing for this?”
“I prefer to ride them naked,” he says with a smirk. Even though I know it’s a joke, it’s still making me blush. I can actually picture him riding that thing naked, and it’s fucking sexy. Dammit.
I roll my eyes. “I’d rather not get the police on our ass.”
“It’s only a short ride. They won’t catch us.” He bites his lip provocatively. “Don’t worry; I’ll be the only one getting your ass.”
I try not to show my shock, but it’s hard. Goddamn him, he really knows how to push my buttons. “Fine, just a short ride then,” I say.
Tiptoeing toward him, I manage to sling my leg over the seat and sit down behind him, putting his coat on properly, too. Wrapping my arms around his waist makes my heart flutter a little, especially when I feel his abs tightening through his shirt. He’s holding his breath as my fingers entwine around his belly, and I take in a short gasp when he moves. God, I can feel every inch of his strong muscles here. This makes me feel like a teenager again.