The lamplight cast a shadow over his profile in the twilight. I could still make out his features, but he looked mysterious somehow. And sexy. Very sexy.
“So what happened out there? One minute you were dancing around the field looking for a target—and the next you were on your knees.” He waggled his eyebrows lasciviously.
I knew he was joking. Inappropriate humor was Rory’s way of dealing with awkward situations, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Sitting next to him in his truck felt oddly intimate. I could almost imagine we were at a cozy table for two at a romantic restaurant. I wanted to stare into his eyes and ask about his day. I wanted to find excuses to touch him while I told him about mine.
I fixated on the hand he’d draped lazily over the steering wheel as I collected my thoughts. Then I launched into a brief summary of what had happened during the play.
“This is what you get when you celebrate a win before the final whistle is blown,” I griped. “I told Moreno to focus, but…whatever. I’ll be fine. I just need some rest and maybe something to eat.”
Rory nodded, then glanced out the rear window. I followed his gaze, noting the empty parking lot. “Do you feel like getting a burger or something?”
“Are you asking me out?” I countered with a half smile.
I expected him to roll his eyes and make a snarky comment about the concept of “dating.” But he didn’t. He went perfectly still and then inclined his head slightly. “Yeah. I think so. Or would that be weird?”
“No. It would be nice.”
“Nice,” he repeated, furrowing his brow. “The thing is, I didn’t really mean it in a nice way.”
“You want to ask me out in a bad way?” I teased.
“Definitely, but the tutor thing might feel strange. Does it?”
“I don’t think so,” I replied carefully.
He held my gaze for a long moment, then pursed his lips. “Okay. Well, where do they have good burgers around here?”
“Rory.”
“Yeah?”
I swallowed hard and gave the same cursory look out the window he had before leaning across the console. Then I grabbed the collar of his denim jacket and crashed my mouth over his. It wasn’t so much a kiss as a frenetic fusion. My heart raced and my skin felt too tight and yet, somehow this felt right. And it only got better when he held my head and pulled back slightly to soften the connection. He bit my bottom lip before deftly pushing his way inside, gliding his tongue alongside mine in a slow, sensuous motion. I groaned aloud and angled my chin to get closer still.
Oxygen was overrated. This was all I needed. The slow tangle of tongues, his fingers in my hair, and the soulful sound of an old Aretha Franklin song in the background. I had no idea how long we made out in the front seat of Rory’s truck. I only knew I could have happily done it all night long. It was crazy, because as much as I wanted this, it didn’t seem possible. In fact, there was a small part of me that was afraid this might be a dream. I wasn’t going to be the one to end it.
Rory finally broke for air and rested his forehead on mine. He sat back and regarded me cautiously as if mentally preparing himself for me to freak out.
“I didn’t mean to do that,” he said in a gravelly tone.
“Actually, I kissed you first,” I reminded him.
He flashed me a wicked grin that made his teeth look impossibly white in the moonlight. “You did, didn’t you?”
We shared a poignant smile I desperately wanted to quantify. I was terrible at measuring gestures of affection though, so it was probably a good thing my cell buzzed just then.
I pulled it from my pocket and glanced at the message. “Shit. I forgot about Max. He’s waiting for me at home.”
I rattled off an unnecessary explanation about my impatient roommate wanting to get on the road to LA as I clandestinely adjusted my erection.
Rory nodded. “You should go.”
“Yeah.” I opened the passenger door and stepped outside. I started to say good-bye, but at the last second, I paused. “What are you doing tonight? I mean, if you’re free, maybe you could go to LA too and…”
“Meet you at the bar?” Rory finished with a wicked grin.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll see you there.”
“Good.” I held his gaze before closing the door and waving good-bye.
He waited like a perfect gentleman for me to get in my car and pull out ahead of him before following me out of the parking lot. I snuck a sideways peek at his truck as he turned onto the main street. Then I set my fingers on my swollen lips in wonder.
Something was happening here. I hadn’t felt this way about a guy in years. Lightheaded, vaguely nauseous, and slightly dopey. I wanted to stare into his eyes and hang on his every word the way I had with Max when we were teenagers. But this was different. Rory and I weren’t kids. We were grown men. And I wanted things now that I didn’t know were possible back then. It was intoxicating to know he felt the same.