Coming Home(104)

Danny watched as Leah pursed her lips, weighing her options.

“So, we’re not allowed to drink anything,” she clarified, and Jake smiled.

“Not unless you want to lose.”

Her shoulders rose as she took a deep breath, and then she exhaled in a rush. “Okay, let’s do it.”

“Seriously?” Jake asked.

“Yeah,” she answered with a smile. “Why? Were you all talk just now?”

Danny smirked as he and Tommy made eye contact across the booth.

“Nope,” he said a beat too late, picking up the horrifically enhanced buffalo bite, and Leah did the same, holding it out to him.

“Cheers,” she said, tapping hers to Jake’s, and then they both popped them into their mouths.

For the first few seconds, they chewed in silence, but then it started.

Jake’s face turned beet red as he began to chew faster in an attempt to get it over with, and Leah pressed her fingertips to her lips, blinking rapidly as her eyes began to tear.

Danny brought his hand to the back of her neck, rubbing gently as he leaned toward her ear. “You can drink. I won’t let him make you go in there.”

She shook her head. “I’m good,” she managed hoarsely, and then she closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

Across the table, Jake was banging his fist against the side of the booth, his eyes clamped shut as he tried to force himself to swallow.

“Woo!” Leah exhaled, her eyes watering heavily as she reached for the spoon in front of her, and then she leaned across the table, dragging it along the mound of sour cream on the top of Tommy’s nachos.

Danny watched her bring the spoon to her lips, licking the excess sour cream off the sides before she put the spoon in her mouth, sucking on it like she was eating a lollipop. She slowly pulled it from her lips, turning the spoon around and dragging her tongue up the back of it to remove every last drop before she placed it back on the table.

Holy. Fuck.

He glanced across the table to see if the others had been watching her—if they were reacting to what she had just done—but Jake had both fists clamped in front of his eyes, breathing like he was about to give birth, and Tommy had his head thrown back against the booth, laughing hysterically.

He turned back to see Leah staring up at him. Her face was flushed and her eyes were still glassy, but she certainly wasn’t feeling Jake’s pain.

“What?” she asked softly, and Danny stared at her, saying nothing. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He opened his mouth but closed it before he could formulate a response, and the corner of her mouth lifted.

“Are you kidding me?” she said through her smile.

“What?”

“Did that just turn you on?”

“What? No! No…I didn’t…I was just…”

Her smile grew more pronounced, and Danny dropped his head, exhaling a breathy laugh.

“Really? Hot sauce?”

“No,” he said softly. “That thing you just did with the spoon.”

Leah smirked. “Ah,” she said with a nod. “Well, that was one of the most awful things I’ve ever experienced, so I’m glad to hear it at least looked sexy.”

He laughed, lifting his eyes to hers, and she smiled, reaching up and running her thumb over his cheek.

“He’s out!” Tommy yelled. “Done!”

Leah and Danny whipped their heads in Tommy’s direction to see Jake with his head thrown back, chugging a glass of water so quickly that two streams were running out of the corners of his mouth and down his chin.