Breaking Out (The Surrender Trilogy 2)

Parker tickled her until she was begging for him to stop. “Uncle! Uncle!”

“Say it!” He laughed. Breadcrumbs stuck to his eyebrow.

“Fine!” she cried, out of breath and developing a cramp from laughing so hard. He rose above her, breathing heavy and looked into her eyes expectantly. She relented.

“You’re funny,” she admitted derisively.

He pursed his lips and pinched her hip and pinned her hands above her head with his other hand. Something came alive inside of her, something that reminded her of Lucian and scared the hell out of her.

“Fine! Fine!” In a more believable tone, she said,” You’re funny. You’re one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.” Now let go.

His grin widened and then he slowly lowered his mouth to hers.

Oh no!

She quickly turned her face and he stilled, his lips landing on her cheek. Don’t do this. She made a sound in the back of her throat.

He sighed and pressed his head into her shoulder. “Scout . . .” Her name was a barely audible plea. What did he want from her?

Her breath came fast. His grip slackened, but her arms remained suspended above her head, his body still covering hers.

Was he asking permission? She was suddenly embarrassed, for her or for him she didn’t know. She turned into the floor and scooted out from under him, into a seated position.

His hair was a mess and there were bits of sandwich all over his shoulder. Then he was there, good old Parker. He laughed and the moment was over. She snorted and brushed some of the crumbs away.

“You look like someone hit you in the face with a frying pan,” he said, dragging his finger over her temple. He flashed a tomato-covered finger at her before popping it in his mouth.

Good. Keep it light. Normal. “That’s exactly what a girl wants to hear,” she teased, mopping her sticky hair off her face. “You’re cleaning this up.”

He smiled shyly. “If that’s my penance for getting you to laugh, I’ll take it. I have no regrets.”

That’s not all you tried to get. There was no mistaking what had almost happened there.

She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, pretending a great deal of lightness she didn’t feel. “I’m going to take a shower and wash this crap out of my hair.”

He caught her hand, looking momentarily unsure. “Are you mad?”

She stilled. He shouldn’t ask questions she didn’t know how to answer. She was confused, but not mad. For a while there she was having fun. She hadn’t even thought about Lucian until he restrained her, which was sort of her goal. She just didn’t understand what she’d done to make him try to kiss her. She looked away, unable to meet his gaze. “Of course I’m not mad.”

He leaned forward and pecked a kiss on her cheek—a completely platonic peck. “Good, because I didn’t want to have to do it again.” His expression said that was a lie.

What was happening? She stood. If she acted unaffected she could pretend it didn’t happen. “Please try to abstain.”

“Will you let me take you out tomorrow night?” he asked, the sudden change of subject surprising her.

Laughing had felt good. It was tempting to see if he could make her forget again. She needed the distraction.

He was right. It was his money to do with what he wanted. Besides, from what she understood, he was making a hell of a lot more money than she was going to be making at Clemons. She just needed to keep herself at a safe distance. “Okay.”

“Great,” he said with a wide smile. “We can celebrate your first day of work.”

Chapter 29

Enough

Working at the grocery story was a cakewalk compared to keeping house at Patras. All Scout had to do was smile and scan items then place them into bags. There were even lulls when she was simply required to stand by her register until the next customer arrived.

The register was a little tricky at first, but she got the hang of it. When she didn’t know how to do something, Nick, the guy working the next register, was more than eager to explain. Nick was nineteen and funny.

Mr. Gerhard made several appearances throughout the day. At one point he stood behind her, uncomfortably close, breathing his spearmint coffee breath over her shoulder as he explained how to refill her receipt roll. She only survived because Nick drew a mustache on his finger and mimicked their manager when he wasn’t looking. It was almost impossible not to laugh.

All in all, she liked her new job. When she finished for the day, she felt a sense of promise. She could do this.

She returned to the apartment hours before Parker would get home. They were going out that night to celebrate and, shockingly, she actually felt like she had something to commemorate. She was moving on.