Misadventures of a Rookie (Misadventures #11)(39)

A gorgeous flush came over her face as she grinned. “So, this isn’t over?”

“What is this?” I asked, because I honestly didn’t know. “You keep saying this, but I have no clue what that means. Like Max fucked with me last night, saying we’re dating. Are we dating?”

She looked really uncomfortable. “Do you wanna date?”

I gave her a dry look. “I asked you first.”

“And I asked you second, so you gotta answer!”

I shook my head. “You’re annoying, but dating, um…that’s basically where I don’t date anyone but you, and you do the same but with me, right?”

She slowly nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then yeah, I want to do that.”

She seemed shocked, her brows pulling together, and that little twitch at the side of her mouth went nuts. “You do?”

“What the hell? I said it, didn’t I?”

She made a face and pressed her hand to her chest. “Excuse me, I was just verifying.”

“I don’t say things I don’t mean, I can promise you that.”

Her eyes met mine, dark and unsure. “Hey, do me a favor.”

I shrugged. “Kiss you, done,” I said, leaning toward her, but her hand stopped me. “That wasn’t it, was it?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“Promise me you’ll make no promises.”

I frowned, unsure what she meant. Didn’t girls want the promise of forever and all that shit?

“I don’t want to get all into this when you’re going off this way and I’m going the other. I’m all for having fun and being together. That’s great, but I don’t want to promise anything.” I couldn’t see her eyes through the sunglasses, but her voice sounded guarded.

Still, I couldn’t deny what she said struck me. Why did this hurt? Not really a pain, but a sting. Her words stung. Like that sucked. I wasn’t saying I wanted forever and all that shit, but man, maybe I wanted some of it? Shit, what did I want? What the hell was I doing? This shit wasn’t even on my radar a few weeks ago, and now, I was on a blanket with a girl of, fuck, my dreams, and I was confused.

Shit. I guess this really was dating, wasn’t it?

“Okay, I’m not sure what I’m agreeing to here, but cool, no promises.”

“Cool,” she said softly, seeming pleased by my answer.

“But what if I want to promise something?”

“Don’t.”

“What if it’s endless amounts of my face between your legs?”

She thought that over. “Okay, that is promise-able.”

“Okay, and if I want to promise endless orgasms?”

She smiled. “That’s fine.”

“What about lots of sex, especially from behind?”

Her face broke into a grin. “I mean, I won’t complain.”

“So sexual favors are a go, but promises about futures and shit like that are a no-go.”

She nodded. “Exactly.”

“Because you’re relationship-phobic?”

She glared. “I am not, and don’t act like you know what you’re talking about. You just decided to date after years of rocking that solo life.”

“Hey, that was by choice. No one was ever worth it.”

She gave me a dry look. “How many women have you slept with? A hundred? And not one was worth it?”

“Nope,” I said with a shrug. “I am very particular.”

“Whatever.”

“No, it’s not whatever, and I’m gonna show you. It’s okay to trust someone who will promise you something.”

“Oh, please… Until you’ve been left, heartbroken, don’t talk to me about trusting anyone.”

Reaching out, I cupped her by the back of her neck and brought her to me. Looking deep into her eyes, I smiled before pressing our lips together, the taste of her driving me wild. She placed her hand on mine as we kissed. Pulling back, only a breath away, I whispered, “I won’t do that to you.”

Her eyes were sad as she whispered back, “I’ve been told that before.”

I really did hate this dude. “I’m not him.”

“I know.”

“Good, so don’t punish me for his shit,” I reminded her.

“You’re right.” She nodded.

Capturing her bottom lip with my teeth, I whispered, “I want that story.”

She shook her head, releasing her lip from my hold. “And I’m nowhere near ready to rehash that shit show with you.”

I pressed my nose into hers. “Still, I want to know.”

She kissed the side of my lips and sat back up, reaching for her orange juice. “Believe me, you don’t. It’s the same old sob story. Girl falls for guy, gives him every single piece of her, shit goes down, he promises her the world and then some. Next day, he’s gone.”

I could see the pain in her eyes, the way each word was like pulling a knife out of her back. And chest.

She looked up at me and shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve heard that one before.”

“He sounds like a douche.”

She scoffed. “I thought he was my forever.” She laughed. “I was a stupid, na?ve girl.”