His reverence moved me. I expected him to crack a joke to help us reset. I was actually counting on his flippant, sunny demeanor and his talent for never taking anything too seriously. But this…I didn’t expect his awestruck deference. I couldn’t remember anyone ever looking at me this way. Like he wanted to memorize me. Not just the moment, but me. My body, my scent, my presence in his space. It was utterly enchanting. And completely unexpected.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome.” He tossed the washcloth on the floor, then tucked his T-shirt into his jeans and buckled his belt. “Not sure what happens now, but I should probably tell you that I have a crush on you.”
“You do?”
“Mmhmm. I think this is where you tell me you’re too old for me.”
I redressed quickly and shook my head. “I didn’t say a word.”
Liam adjusted his impressive bulge…just because—and pulled his keys from his pocket. “I know. But I should be honest here. I’m in the market for a sugar daddy.”
I snort-laughed. “I had no idea.”
“Yeah, it’s true. In spite of the fact that I don’t think you’re loaded and eager to pay my bills in exchange for sexual favors, I feel like I should keep you in the running.”
My grin split my face in two. “So you’re saying I’m too young for you?”
He held the door open. “You understand, right?”
“Of course.”
“My problem is that I don’t know where to meet a really rich old dude.”
“Why don’t you become an escort?” I suggested.
“Maybe, but…I get nervous around strangers,” he lied.
I rolled my eyes but didn’t bother hiding my smile. “Very funny. I forget you’re two days old sometimes. C’mon. You need your wheels, and I need a shower before my shift at the bar.”
“Let’s continue this conversation on the way to the garage. I have a few probing questions,” he purred mischievously. “Whatever we don’t cover, we’ll save for our first date.”
I furrowed my brow. “Date? We can’t date.”
“Sure we can.” He leaned against the doorjamb and pulled me close. “Here’s my prediction. You’re gonna push me away and tell me we can only be friends. I’ll pretend to be cool with that. In fact, I’ll probably make a few ‘friendly’ gestures, like invite you out for coffee or ask you to go for a run.”
“You hate running,” I reminded him.
“I do, but I’d make an exception for you.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“I know, right? You’ll still resist me, but I’m pretty damn persistent and underneath it all, you like me.”
“I do,” I admitted softly. “I like you a lot, but—”
He set a finger over my lips and shook his head. “And when we’re in the mountains together in a couple of weeks, we’ll go on our first date.”
“That won’t work. You’ll be with your friends, and I’ll be with my family.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way, baby. I’ll talk you into it and eventually, you’ll let me.”
“No, I won’t,” I insisted stubbornly.
Liam licked my bottom lip, then pulled it between his teeth.
“Challenge accepted. Close the door behind you. We’ve got a badass Beamer in need of rescuing. Chop-chop.”
I listened to the thump of his feet on the stairs and heard him greet someone. Their voices faded, leaving me with my jumbled thoughts.
Okay, this was all very strange. I wasn’t quite sure how a ride home from school ended with us trading secrets and jerking off in his room like a couple of horny teens. Liam was a bad idea, and I’d been so good about staying away from those recently. Not that I had any regrets. I didn’t.
In fact, the unexpected crash course in the life and times of Liam Perez made me more curious than ever. He was funny, charming, smart, and apparently…bi. But that didn’t make him suddenly available to me. And it didn’t mean I wanted to continue this in the mountains or…anywhere.
No. Not gonna happen.
3
Liam
This was happening.
I had a good feeling about Drew. Scratch that…I had a great feeling about him. We’d danced around each other for the past couple of weeks since our afternoon hump-session. We’d gone from being friendly coworkers to a couple of horny dudes with a major secret.
It went pretty much exactly as I predicted. I was the dork who tried a little too hard to get the cute guy at work to notice me while Drew fought the obvious sparks between us like a vigilant firefighter on a raft in the middle of the ocean. But I was happy to report that my tactics were working. I’d worn him down.
How? Well, I’m persuasive. I’d been told I come on strong when I want something. And damn, I wanted Drew.
The thing was, I understood his reticence. He might claim our age difference and the fact that he was my boss worked against us, but five years was nothing and truthfully, I should have quit the bistro two weeks ago. I didn’t have time to juggle school and a coaching gig with a job waiting tables. But if I quit now, I might lose my shot with Drew. It would be far too easy for him to ignore me if he didn’t see me every day.