Addison (The Mitchell/Healy Family #6)(11)

He wouldn’t look at me. “I just realized I was supposed to be somewhere. Do you think we could hit a drive-thru instead?”

“Are you serious? Didn’t you practically beg me to come here?”

He leaned across the table getting closer to me. At first I wanted to back away before I realized he was trying to be inconspicuous. “I need you to trust me.” His eyes were frantic, like he was desperate to get as far away as possible. I didn’t understand.

“Okay, we can go.”

Cole kept his head down as I followed behind him, silently wondering what the hell was going on. Once we were in the car he peered out the window, as if I wasn’t sitting next to him. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Just take me home. This was a bad idea.”

Since I wasn’t trying to have a relationship outside of helping him, I didn’t ask many questions. I did manage to stop at a local drive-thru to get myself a drink. When Cole wanted food I was even more confused. “Let’s go inside.”

“I thought you needed to get home.”

“No. I just needed to get out of there.”

“Care to explain?”

He raised a brow and smiled. “If I told you that, you might think I like you, and we both know you couldn’t handle it.”

I rolled my eyes and parked the car. “I hate to break it to you, but I wouldn’t care. My views would still remain the same. I’m here to help you. It’s my job and I take pride in it. You needed a ride, and so I offered it. You said you were hungry, and I was too. Don’t read anything else into it. I can promise you I’m professional.”

He took me by surprise by reaching over and moving a piece of my hair away from my face. “I have no doubts about your professionalism, but when you feel it, you feel it. It’s only a matter of time before you throw yourself on me, and I’ll just put this out there, I won’t push you away.”

He was entirely too full of himself. It annoyed me more than anything. After grabbing my purse from the backseat, I headed into the eatery, knowing he was following behind me like a lost puppy.

I stood to order, but Cole stepped in front of me. He ordered his food, while I stood there assuming he was being rude, but before I could say something smart he turned to look at me. “What would you like?”

“I can get it myself.”

“I insist.” Since I figured he didn’t have a lot of money I ordered something small and thanked him. He carried our tray full of food to a nearby table and we sat across from one another. I was trying hard not to look, but I took in his clothes. Cole was wearing a pair of camo cargo shorts. He had a tank top on that didn’t really match, but showed off his strong biceps. His hair was disheveled, probably because he hadn’t had a brush in a couple days. I liked the way it looked, and could tell it was pretty thick. It was a little lighter than I first suspected, being a more dirty blonde in color. When my eyes met his I felt embarrassed. He was watching me check him out, but said nothing until I was caught. “See something you like?”

“Okay, this needs to stop. You’re pushing my buttons.”

“You like it.” He winked and took a bite of his sandwich.

“I do not,” I defended. “You’re too much. Tell me,” I took my first nibble as I asked. “Are you like this with everyone?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He played with the bun on his sandwich and pulled out a large wedge of lettuce. “I hate when they do that. Who even eats that part of the leaf?”

He was changing the subject, thank God. “There’s a meeting tonight. Are you planning on coming?”

“That depends if my new girlfriend plans on picking me up. I’m pretty sure there aren’t any taxis around.”

I almost choked thinking about a taxi in our neck of the woods. The only time we used one was when we went to the airport. Shalan sometimes hired a car to come and pick her up, but I knew it was astronomical in cost. “I guess I don’t have a choice. I’ll have to come get you.”

“It won’t be for long. I start a new job in two days.”

“Really? You got a job already?”

“Yeah, I know a guy who has a booth open at his tattoo shop. I won’t make much at first since I don’t have clientele, but it’s something. Hopefully I’ll get some of the walkins.”

“Do you like doing that?” I was only attempting to be friendly.

“You say you’re not interested, but you keep prying. If you must know, I like doing anything that has to do with art. Maybe after we’ve gone out a few times I’ll show you some of my work.”

“Gone out? You’re still on that?” I continued smiling, and I couldn’t figure out why. This guy was getting under my skin, and he kept pushing. He refused to let up, even if it made me piping mad. “I’ll agree to take you to the meetings, if you promise to stop assuming I want something out of this. This,” I waved my hands between us, “is as far as we go. I said it before, we’re not going to date. I’m not interested in having a boyfriend, especially someone in the program. It’s against the rules. You know that don’t you?”

He leaned forward. “Maybe you should remind me.” Then he began to chuckle. “I’m messing with you. Sorry. It’s just the way I handle uncomfortable situations.”