Until Lilly (Until, #3)(3)

“You smell so f*cking good.” His voice was a soft rumble against my skin, making my pulse speed up and causing the place between my legs to tingle.

“Thanks.” I smiled, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. I had forgotten the way he smelled, and how big he was compared to me. His head came up, his hands running up my arms to my shoulders and under my jaw.

“You ready to go?”

I nodded; my mouth had gone dry with him standing so close. I felt overwhelmed. He had to be one of the most attractive men I had ever seen. He looked like a hot baseball player because of his hat, just more bulky. “So, what are we doing?”

“I figured we could go to dinner and catch a movie.”

“Sounds good. Just let me get my bag.” I stepped out of his embrace and walked down the short hall to my kitchen, grabbing my bag off the counter. I checked to make sure I had my phone. Cash was still standing near the door; he was looking over the photos hanging on the wall.

“Are those your parents?” He pointed to a picture of my mom and dad standing in front of Childs Glacier in Alaska. My dad was holding my mom close, her head laying against his chest, looking at the camera. I took that picture right before I left for college.

“Yeah, that’s my mom and dad.” I smiled. He looked at me, then back to the photo.

“You look like your mom. Just the hair is different.” I reached up, automatically touching my hair.

“Since I was old enough to go to the drug store on my own, I have been changing it.” I smiled at the memory of the first time I got my hands on a box of hair color. “The first time I colored it, my parents came home to find me with black hair. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the towels, my hands, and the bathroom weren’t also black.” I laughed. “My dad says he can tell what kind of mood I am in based on my hair color.”

“So what does the red say about your mood?” He reached out, running his fingers through it.

“I don’t know.”

“Aren’t redheads known to be wild?” He smirked.

“Um…I…” I could feel my cheeks heat up.

“Or was it that they have fiery tempers?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think the color of your hair has anything to do with your temper.”

“So the day in the café—your temper then?”

“You were annoying.”

He chuckled, taking a step back. “I was letting you know I was interested.”

My eyebrows drew together. “By pushing your way into buying coffee for me?”

“I was being nice.”

“Well, the gesture was nice, I agree, but your execution was horrible.”

“I guess I was off my game.”

“Is that what you do? I mean, do you often try to hit on women in coffee shops by buying coffee for them?”

“I can tell you with one-hundred percent truthfulness that I had never done that before.”

“Never?” I asked. He shook his head.  A look passed over his face. I don’t know what it meant, but I didn’t like it.

“Do you date a lot?” I asked quietly, wondering if he thought I would just be some kind of conquest.

“I haven’t dated.”

“You haven’t dated?” I looked him over again. He must have thought I was stupid. Guys who looked like him must date a lot.

“I have never had to date.”

“What does that mean?”

“If I want to sleep with someone, I don’t need to date them.”

“What?” I breathed; that is not at all what I expected him to say. “You’re the guy who can get any girl he wants without ever putting any kind of effort into it.” He shrugs; the gesture made me feel sick, and at the same time, I wanted to kick him in the nuts. Maybe the red hair did make me have a temper.

“I never lead anyone on, or tell them things they want to hear.”

“So that makes it okay?”

“I don’t know if it makes it okay, but it’s who I am.”

“Well, I am glad that this is coming to light now, rather than later.”

“Oh no,” he shook his head, “this thing with you is something completely different.”

“Yeah, I know,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. “It’s different because I will not be sleeping with you.” I leaned forward. “EVER.”

“Well, I guess we answered the question about redheads and their tempers, didn’t we?” He smiled, showing off both dimples. “But trust me when I tell you, I would not have driven almost three hours just to sleep with you; that’s not what I am looking for.”

My pulse sped up when he repeated what he said earlier, “This thing with you is something different, something I’m looking forward to exploring.”

“We can be friends, but that’s it. I will never be some guy’s passing conquest, or a notch on a bed post.”

“Did I ask you to sleep with me?” He smirked again. He didn’t, but I saw guys like him all the time around campus, and I had avoided each and every one of them. “When we do sleep together, it will mean something to the both of us.”

“Did you not hear what I said earlier?”

“I heard you. I also know you should never say never.” He looked at me like he knew something I didn’t, making me feel uneasy. “You ready to go?”