Walker bent his body, his hands reaching down to cup my ass in my skirt, and I fought against the urge to hop into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist. I suddenly wished I were wearing jeans. His hands moved from my ass to my hair, but his mouth never left mine. His actions were deliberate, every flick of his tongue against mine a calculated act. And I loved every second of it.
No, no, no. I can’t do this with him.
I pushed him away as visions of his past conquests came trotting through my mind. “Stop,” I managed to say as the elevator also came to an abrupt halt.
“Madison.” He reached for my hand and gripped it tight. “Don’t be mad.”
“God, Walker. We don’t even know each other. You can’t just do whatever you want with me.” I attempted to formulate a reasonable argument without admitting just how much I liked the way he did whatever he wanted with me.
I didn’t want to be that girl, though. You know, the kind who fell for a celebrity simply because he was too hot to resist in real life. I was slowly becoming the type of girl I not only didn’t respect, but didn’t like. Walker Rhodes was ruining my life.
Turning left after I exited the elevator, I walked past three dark blue doors before reaching mine. I tried the handle before reaching for my house key. It was unlocked and I led him into the entryway.
Keri shouted from somewhere in the condo, “That better be you, Mads! I want to hear every fucking detail about your night with the hot—” She rounded the corner in her pajamas and her eyes went wide as she took in Walker’s tall frame standing in our living room.
“Shit.” Keri normally had a good poker face in uncomfortable social situations, but this one must have been too much for her because her face turned bright red. I couldn’t wait to tease her about it later. “Um, hi.” She extended her hand, practically drooling at the sight of him. “I’m Keri, Madison’s roommate.”
Walker shook her hand politely before releasing it. “I’m Walker. It’s nice to meet you.”
She gave me the stink-eye before leaning over and hissing in my ear, “Thanks for the warning. I could have changed, you know.”
“Sorry,” I whispered back.
She then stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. “What the hell are you two doing here?”
Walker shrugged and answered for both of us. “It’s a long story.”
“Well, I have all kinds of time,” Keri offered and I shot her a death glare. “Um, just kidding. You two kids probably want to have some time alone, so I’ll be in my room.” She turned to walk away, then looked back. “But Walker, will you hate me if I go all fan girl on you right now and ask you to take a picture with me?”
I groaned. “Keri!”
Walker visibly relaxed and laughed. “It’s fine.”
Keri practically shoved her phone at me and insisted I only take it from the “tits up” since she wasn’t properly dressed. After approving the picture, she tensed and made an odd face. “Can I ask you one more thing?” she said, directing her question at Walker.
“Uh-huh,” he responded, before giving me a quick glance.
“Will you please sign something for me?” She slapped her palms together so it looked like she was praying. “I’m sorry, Mads.”
“Where’s my roommate and when is she coming back?” I teased.
“I know! I swear I never act like this. And I meet celebrities all the time.” She slapped a palm against her forehead. “I’m such an idiot. Okay, I’m leaving you two alone. Promise.” And with that, she disappeared down the hall and closed her door.
“She’s funny,” Walker said with a smile once she was out of sight.
“I’ve literally never, and I mean ever, seen her act like that.”
“You’re going to give her shit for it, aren’t you?”
I let out a big grin. “Until the day I die.”
After the whole elevator incident, I struggled with where to have this conversation Walker so desperately insisted we have. If I allowed him into my bedroom, I was convinced that absolutely no talking would occur. Unless you considered body parts being inserted into other body parts talking.
Tonight had already gotten more out of hand than I ever intended, so my bedroom was definitely out. And that left the living room. Yes. The living room would be a safe zone. Keri could walk out at any moment, and the couch was large enough to put ten people between us.
“Can I get you anything to drink? Or eat? Shit, Walker, you must be hungry. Do you want me to make us something?” I offered, feeling only half bad that we left the restaurant before eating dinner. My feelings wouldn’t allow me to take full blame for that debacle since he was the one who insisted I leave. I wanted to be angry at him for that, but I couldn’t be.
“Do you cook?” His voice raised an octave, the idea clearly exciting to him.
I chuckled. “I’m not sure you’d call what I do cooking, but I survive on it.”
“How about you leave the cooking to the pros, and just grab us some snacks?” he suggested, and I wanted to kiss him for being so brilliant.
“Sounds great. Do you want a water, a soda, or beer?”
“Water sounds perfect, thanks.”
I went into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water, a few pieces of fruit, chips, crackers, cheese, and napkins, then walked carefully into the living room, trying to juggle everything in my arms.
Walker jumped up when he saw me. “Let me help.” He reached for the box of crackers and pulled it from my arms, causing the entire pile to crash to the floor.
When I laughed at the mess, his cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry.” He swooped down to grab everything before I could. “Where should I put it all?” His glance darted between the sofa and the cluttered coffee table.
Pushing all the knickknacks on the table to one corner, I motioned for him to place it on the empty space. He dropped everything into a heap and I busily set them up, arranging the snacks in an orderly manner. Or at least a manner that made sense to me.
Walker reached for one of the bottles of water before sitting down on the couch, one foot tapping restlessly. He patted the cushion next to him and I kicked off my heels, then sat down and maneuvered myself a little farther away from him than necessary. His face scrunched up as his eyes narrowed. “Seriously?”
“You’re the one who said we needed to talk, so I’m maintaining a safe distance from you and your magical eyes.”
“My wh–what?” A laugh escaped from his lips, and I decided that those were magic too.
“Nothing.” I rubbed my eyes with my hand, trying to break away from every part of him that called to me. “You said you wanted to talk?”
“I did. I mean, I do.” He rolled his bottled water between his palms, staring at it for a moment before saying, “First of all, I want to apologize for losing it in the restaurant tonight. I’m so sorry about that, Madison.”
When I raised my hand to stop him, he waved me off. “I shouldn’t have acted that way, but I just got so pissed off by what you said.” His head lowered like he was too ashamed to look at me. “It’s just that I didn’t want you to be there because you had to. I wanted you to want to be there.”
Pulling in a deep breath, I waited to see if he would continue. When he didn’t, I jumped in. “I understand why you got upset. It was a shit move on my part and it was rude. If the roles were reversed, I would have been upset too.”
His eyebrows drew together and he shook his head. “But I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. There’s no excuse. My mom woulda kicked my ass.”
“Look at me, Walker,” I pleaded. “I’m the one who feels like a jerk. I should be apologizing to you. So, I’m sorry.”