Meet Me Halfway(83)

Layla’s expression was so giddy, all she needed was a bag of popcorn to complete the package. “Kissing in plain sight, Mads? Tsk-tsk.”

Jamie pretended to gag, holding a finger to his open mouth, “It was gross. He kissed her so much, she fell to the ground.”

The gleam in Layla’s eyes had me up off the ground and booking it to my room.





Someone was watching me. I could feel it. I’d always been able to, like a sixth sense guarding my back. The hair on my neck would raise, and a cold sweat would slither down my spine, conflicting with the sweat accumulating along my hairline. It’d always been my warning that Aaron had followed me somewhere and there was hell to pay.

I twisted around for what felt like the tenth time in an hour, eyes darting to every corner of the restaurant trying to find the source of the feeling. I wouldn’t put it past Aaron to have watched my house and followed me to discover where I worked. It’s how he operated. For him, lines were meant to be crossed, rules broken.

But as much as I trusted that sixth sense, the one that’d never been wrong, my gut said it wasn’t him. Aaron never hid. He’d always wanted me to know he was there, wanted me to know he was angry so I could stew in the knowledge I’d disappointed him again.

So, I brushed the feeling away, rubbing my hands up and down my arms and heading toward the bar to get a new round of margaritas for a Girls’ Night group at one of my tables. They were loud as hell and there was a good chance they’d be too tipsy to tip well, but they were having the time of their lives.

“Hey, Nate, think you can throw together a good nonalcoholic drink for me to go with those?”

“What on God’s poor, polluted earth for?”

“The designated driver for my table of women looks like she’s contemplating lying in traffic. That level of friendship deserves a reward.”

He laughed, turning to grab some pineapple juice and grenadine. “You got it, Curly.”

The five dollars the drink cost me had been worth it, not just for the grateful smile it’d put on the poor woman’s face, but also by the gracious tip she’d made sure to leave on the table. Sometimes it literally paid to be kind.

I finished clearing off their table when I felt it again. I whipped around, causing the customers next to me to glance my way, but again I saw nothing. I rubbed at the side of my face, feeling like I was losing my mind.

I snagged a coworker’s arm as she walked past. “Hey, I only have two tables right now and they’re both set for a while, so I’m going to step out real quick. Will you come find me if I get seated?”

“Sure.”

Thanking her, I crossed the restaurant toward the bathroom, deciding to pee and splash some water on my face first.

I’d just wrested a paper towel from the finicky dispenser when the bathroom door creaked open behind me. I stepped to the side to free up the sink and turned, my eyes landing on the male body standing right inside the doorway. I jerked back, whacking my shoulder against the dispenser.

My heartbeat picked up until I was sure it was visible, and my breathing became unsteady. I knew someone had been watching me. Where in the hell had he been this entire time? His tall ass, Henley-wearing hunk of a body wasn’t exactly easy to hide.

Squeezing the paper towel like a stress ball, I tried to clear the lump in my throat. “Jesus, what is up with you and scaring the shit out of me? A man your size has no right to move as silently as you do.”

Garrett tilted his head, slowly taking me in.

I swallowed, “You’re giving me sex eyes again.”

He smirked, removing his hands from his pockets and rubbing one against the shadow covering his jawline. “On a scale of one to ten, how creepy would it sound if I told you I came to watch you work?”

“A solid ten.”

He took a step forward. “What if I said I came to watch you work because I couldn’t stand the thought of going an entire day and night without seeing you?”

Oh God. Oh God, oh God. “That’d drop it to a six or seven, maybe,” I said, mentally raising my arms and yelling hallelujah when the words came out steady.

Another step. “What if I told you the thought of waiting all night to taste you again was too much for me? That I was going out of my mind remembering what it was like to sink my teeth into that perfect lip of yours while I pulled it into my mouth.”

I inhaled, but it was shaky and did nothing to settle the tingles that had erupted, centering in a very specific spot. “Three.”

He was directly in front of me now, and I was very aware that at any point someone could walk in and see him practically pinning me to the wall. Instead of causing me to panic as it should have, the knowledge only seemed to spur on my arousal, allowing it to practically take over.

“And if I told you I’m half-tempted to sit you on that counter, cover your mouth, and prove to you you’re meant to be mine, one thrust at a time?”

“I’d probably be fired.”

He dipped a single finger into the collar of my shirt and pulled, and like a marionette, I moved with it. “Give me a number, Maddie.”

A number? I couldn’t breathe, let alone math.

His hand rose, curling around the side of my throat. Not squeezing, just resting while his thumb gently pressed on the underside of my chin. “You can pretend all you want, baby, but I know you feel this too.”