Playing Hard to Get(55)

“You want another?”

“No thanks. Can we cash out?”

“Of course.” Her smile is polite as she turns to the register and rifles through the credit cards lying nearby. She picks mine up and starts adding up my drinks, printing out a receipt before she hands it over to me along with my card.

I sign the receipt with a flourish, making sure to give her a fat tip. “Thank you for putting up with me.”

“Night,” she calls absently as she heads over to another customer, who’s just come up to the bar.

I slide off my seat, slipping the credit card and my copy of the receipt into my wallet before I shove it into the back pocket of my jeans. I’ve got nothing to lose, I remind myself. Go talk to her.

Standing up straighter, mentally reminding myself that I’m Knox Fucking Maguire and no girl is going to make me feel down on myself, I head over to where Derek and the women are standing, stopping directly across from Joanna.

“Hey.” Derek smiles at me, and it takes everything I’ve got not to scowl at him. “What’s up, bro?”

“Wanted to say hi to Joanna.” My gaze never strays from hers.

The air ripples with tension as we stare at each other. To the point that Derek clears his throat while Natalie grins like a mad woman.

Clearly, she’s aware of our situation.

“You know Joanna?” Derek finally asks.

I glance over at him, wondering how much he remembers from Saturday night. Knowing him, it’s not much. “She’s my English tutor.”

Yep. I decided to lay it all out there.

Derek’s brows shoot up. “No shit? I didn’t know you were a tutor.”

“Yeah, I am.” She takes a sip from her drink, her gaze still on mine. “Knox is my student.”

I incline my head toward her, thankful for the acknowledgement.

Even more thankful Derek didn’t focus on the fact that I need a tutor.

“So we all know each other. That’s cool.” Derek bobs his head, looking like an idiot, and I open my mouth, ready to insult him when Natalie steps forward, grabs hold of Derek’s arm and steers him toward the bar.

“Buy me a drink, big D,” she teases.

“You’ve got it, gorgeous.”

I roll my eyes as they walk away. Big D? He wishes.

“I thought that was your nickname,” Joanna says once they’re gone.

I frown at her, confused. “Excuse me?”

“Big D. You know.” She tilts her head to the side, her long hair falling across one shoulder. “Because you’ve got such a big dick.”





TWENTY-ONE





JOANNA





Oh shit. I should’ve never said that. I think I just shocked him silent.

Knox stares at me for a long, tension-filled moment, his mood shifting right in front of me. When I entered Logan’s and first noticed him sitting at that table alone—because of course he would be here—it’s like Natalie knew her plan would work—he looked the meanest I’ve ever seen him. And he’s not what I would consider a mean person. Not even close. But his entire demeanor screamed, back the fuck off.

It appears pretty much everyone did. Well, except for Cam, who I could tell was giving Knox a hard time once we were spotted.

Not sure where Cam’s at currently, but here I am talking to Knox like nothing ever happened between us, something I didn’t want to do because that’s one of my bad habits. Sweeping issues under the rug, pretending that everything is fine.

I’m starting to realize sometimes problems need to be confronted, because they’re only going to grow bigger, the longer they’re ignored. Yet here I am complimenting Knox’s dick size.

God, I need help.

I have sex on the brain. That has to be it. It’s been months and I grind on this guy a couple of times and all I want to focus on is him.

“Did you just pay me a compliment?”

He sounds surprised, which he should be. I’m still mad at him.

Sort of.

Though I must admit, it helped, seeing him look as miserable as I felt.

“Pretty sure I’m just stating facts.”

We’re quiet, staring at each other, the noise level in the bar rising. More people have arrived in the last few minutes, and someone just turned on the music, making it more difficult to hear.

“You think I have a big dick.”

“You know you do. You basically admitted that earlier. And I have eyes, Knox. I saw it.”

That thing was massive, and he tried to hide it behind his equally massive hands, which didn’t really work.

His smile is small. Hopeful. “You haven’t seen it in all its glory.”

“I’ve felt it,” I remind him. “That was good enough.”

He laughs, the pleasant sound curling all around me before it settles in the form of a low, incessant throb between my thighs. “I thought you were pissed at me.”

“Oh, I am,” I reassure him.

His laughter dies. “You confuse me.”

I love how honest he is. First, when he told me he couldn’t stop thinking about me and now, when he admits I’m confusing.

I get it. I’m confused too.

“Pretty sure our situation is confusing,” I say, shrugging as if we can’t control it, so we might as well go with it.