All That Jazz (Butler Cove #1)(39)

“My mom calls it being a cheap date.” I wasn’t remotely drunk. I wished I was drunk.

He let out a long sigh.

I stared back up at the black sky studded with tiny pinpricks of light. Losing a point of reference, I swayed a bit and realized Joey’s hot hand was still on my arm. “You’re hot,” I said.

He chuckled.

“Not you’re hot. I mean, your hand is hot. Your skin … ugh. Whatever. Your arrogance is showing again. Just because I say hot doesn’t mean you’re sexy.”

“Who said anything about me being sexy?”

“Not me.” I shook my head vehemently.

“Did you really refer to me like that, even back when I was in high school? An ‘arrogant asshat’?”

“Always.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“Am not.” He smirked, his eyes glinting in the darkness.

I stared at him. “Are too,” I challenged.

“You’re impossible.”

We regarded each other in the almost darkness. The lack of visibility seemed to be dialing up the intimacy level. Wow, maybe the beer really had made me lightheaded.

“Why did you kiss me?” I asked.

“To make sure Courtney believed it.”

“Did you plan to do that? I never would have agreed if you’d told me up front.”

His throat bobbed in the shadows as he swallowed. “I’m sorry,” he said.

I’m not, I wanted to say. It was spectacular. You set a standard by which all future kisses will be measured. And actually so far they’ve already all fallen short.

His lips caught a glint of light. Shit. I was staring at his mouth. I looked up quickly, but he caught me. Think, think.

“I need to head out,” I said quickly. “I said I’d meet up with Chase later.”

“No.”

“No?” I ask.

“I’m taking you home. Tell Chase you’ll see him some other time.”

“What the hell, Joseph.”

He clenched his jaw. “Just do it.”





JOEY ASKED COLT to give Keri Ann a ride home and under the light of hundreds of tiki torches led me by the arm off the beach and toward the parking lot. I kept shrugging him off. He kept holding my arm.

“What the hell, Joseph?”

“What?”

“Let me go already.”

“If I let go, do you promise to come with me so I can take you home?”

“No.”

He lifted his shoulder. “Then I’m not letting go.”

We made it half way down the boardwalk through the dunes. I tried again to free myself but his grip tightened.

“You’re hurting me,” I said.

He instantly let go.

It surprised me so much I stopped, my hand coming to my arm that felt cold after the heat of him.

“I’m sorry.” He grimaced, stopping too. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I just …”

“Yeah, well …” He hadn’t hurt me at all.

He blew out a breath and raked both hands through his short hair. “Shit,” he said and looked up at the sky as if it held answers.

For whatever reason, I hadn’t taken the opportunity to go back to the beach. I realized I never had any intention of it. I was more fascinated by what was going on with Joey. He seemed to be going through some kind of mental struggle.

I exhaled and leaned back against the handrail, propping my elbows on it. I crossed one foot over the other. “So, Joseph?”

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “Yeah?”

“I was wondering if I could ask you a favor. You kind of owe me one or two.”

His gaze caught mine. “Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like it?”

“Since you are pretty much always wrong, I’d say that means you probably will like it.” I arched an eyebrow.

“What is it?” he asked warily, not rising to my comment about him being wrong.

“Come here first. I don’t want to yell it. You’re fourteen thousand feet away.”

He rolled his eyes and took the two steps toward me. It put him next to me against the railing. He rested his elbows on the railing too but facing into the darkness. His broad shoulders hunched over next to me, and I traced the outline of his shoulder blades with my eyes.

Adrenaline flooded my system in preparation for my question.

“Well?” he asked, cutting his eyes over to me. His hair was disheveled from his hands and the sea breeze, his eyes were broody and dark.

I steeled my nerves. “I’d really like you to kiss me again.”

Joey straightened abruptly, pushing away from the railing. I’d totally caught him off guard. Shit. I babbled on. “It’s just, it was really nice. And, I mean, as an experiment, I’d like to … I mean Chase’s kisses are nice too but—”

“Shut up about Chase.”

“Oops.” I swallowed. Then chuckled idiotically.

Joey shook his head. “This is a really f*cking bad idea,” he muttered before leaning down and taking my mouth with his.

My heart raced.

He moved in front of me. His hand slid into my hair behind my head and his lower body connected with mine, pressing me against the railing.