He shifted in his seat, his body turning toward me. My eyes were suddenly drawn to his lips. His lips…
“What do you think?” he purred.
My face felt hot. I could feel his gaze roaming over every part of my body. Was he checking me out like I was checking him out earlier? Why did it always turn sexual around him? Some guys just seemed lame and gross when they tried, but with him…it felt as if I was playing with a pro. And the worst of it was, it bothered me…in a good way.
“I think you have a sinister plan for me again. And I want to know what it is.”
He didn’t respond.
“Well?” I prodded.
“A student was robbed at knifepoint last week in one of these streets,” he said quietly.
My heart did a slip and slide.
“I just want you to be safe when I’m not there to protect you.”
Slip and slide. Slip and slide.
I didn’t know how to process this side of him or this side of me that was feeling all these emotions for the first time. I put my signal on, preparing to turn left at another traffic light, onto a campus street. It looked deserted, light fog and rain covering the grounds.
“Fine,” I said. It seemed fair to give him my schedule, something to give him in return for what he’d…offered. I gave him the schedule I’d memorized. “Weekends are tricky. I work at the coffee shop from one to five in the afternoon, but I’m always on call for night shifts at the nursing home or hospital. Weekdays too, but they don’t call all the time.?
??
I threw him a look when he didn’t say anything. I sighed. “Look, I can still drive you. If I can’t, Dylan will.”
“The deal was that you’ll be giving me the ride. Not your brother.”
Before I could say anything, he added, “My schedule’s more flexible. I’ll work around yours. If I need a ride, I’ll borrow your car to get around and I’ll come pick you up from work.”
I shifted in my seat. That seemed too…personal.
“How much do you get paid?” he asked, straight as you please. I didn’t think we were close enough for him to ask me that question.
I glared at him. “Why do you want to know?”
“I don’t think you’re getting paid that much at the coffee shop. Are you?”
“At least I work. Do you?”
“I’m only a part-time student, but I need you to pick me up and drop me off at work.”
I snorted out a laugh. “You work?”
“I freelance. Flipping houses,” he said. “When I don’t have a project, I work for a friend.”
That put me in my place. “Oh.” Hence the god body and the hard hands.
I glanced at him quickly when he wasn’t looking. He owned a business? Looks could be deceiving, I thought. He looked like someone who bossed around people to wash his underwear.
I pulled into a spot in the campus parking lot. I put the gear in Park and turned off the ignition.
“You should take care of yourself,” he said softly. “You’re working yourself sick. You don’t even have a day off.”
“I don’t need you to—”
“Just an observation. Your eyes were really tired this morning.” I held my breath as he leaned close to me. I could see worlds in his eyes. Hundreds of galaxies in different shades of blue.