Page 55

My door drifts open. I’m half asleep on Monday morning, but I shoot straight up in bed.
“It’s me, it’s me.”
I blink at the doorway to find Johnny there. It’s early, but he’s already dressed in a suit with his dark hair perfectly coiffed. “Hey,” I croak out.
Since the night he pulled a gun on Magnum, all we’ve done is kiss, even though I try to avoid doing that. He strides over while I try to get my hair to calm down. “You,” he says, taking my hand as I run it through my hair. “Are beautiful no matter what.”
My face heats. Johnny is intense, and I crave it. I crave him. Every word he says feels like it’s perfectly chosen just for me. The conversation we had that night has only strengthened our bond, though I know it’s stupid. “You know just what to say to a girl,” I tease.
He beams back, and the bed depresses while he sits. “I have to leave for a couple of days.”
“Couple of days?”
He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Something came up. We’ll be back on Wednesday. My dad has a dinner that night. Some other higher-ups in the Crew will be there. He wants us both there.”
Johnny can’t keep the smile off his face. “What is it?” I ask.
“He’s going to move forward with me moving up. He’s liked my business choices lately. It won’t be long until we can take our relationship to the next level. Officially. And unofficially,” he says, running his fingers up the inside of my arm. My skin tingles in his wake. I can’t help the way my body heats. I’ve been able to spend more intimate moments with Brawler and Oscar, but that doesn’t diminish the way I want Johnny. No matter how recklessly stupid it is.
“That’s great news.”
Johnny can barely hold his excitement back. He presses me down into the bed and hovers over me, feathering soft kisses over my face. Before long, he finds my mouth, delving his tongue inside for a short, hot kiss. We both know not to push each other. It’s just enough. Johnny groans and pulls away from me. “Magnum’s going to watch you. You’re safe with him.”
“I know.”
“And I’ll call you, so have your phone on you.”
“Of course,” I promise.
He nuzzles my neck. “Bye, babe. Think of me.” His lips linger on my neck before he leaves the room. When he’s gone, I begrudgingly throw the covers off and pad toward the shower. Johnny leaving could mean two things. One: I’ll be bored as fuck. Or, two: I’ll have more leeway and can spend time with Oscar and Brawler. Even Magnum. He and I have become quite friendly. When Johnny is at long meetings and I happen to be at the apartment without an excuse to leave, we often find ourselves in one another’s company. Sometimes, we just talk. Other times, he lets me use his weights. He never comes into my apartment though, and every time I try to invite him in, he tells me to come over instead.
I wash my hair and lather up my body. I’m under the spray when a noise grabs my attention. Johnny is the only one who comes into my apartment unannounced. Alarm bells sounding off inside my head, I shut the shower off, pausing where I stand only to hear another clicking sound.
I step out, careful to be as quiet as possible as I wrap my body in a towel before moving into my bedroom, going to my bag, and taking out the knife Magnum gave me. I keep it steady in my hand as I exit my room. I stalk through my apartment and stop. The knob of my apartment door moves. I shoot forward, ripping the door open and thrusting the knife in front of me only to find a surprised Oscar standing there. I look both ways down the hall. “What are you doing?” I hiss.
He grabs a hairpin from the lock on my door and pushes me inside my apartment, avoiding the knife shoved toward him. “Surprising you.” He takes the blade from me, closes it, and sets it on the kitchen counter. “I heard the big bosses were off. They left a little while ago.”
“I know,” I confirm. “Johnny came in to tell me he wouldn’t be back until Wednesday.”
Oscar devours me with his gaze. When he gets to the top of my head, he smirks. “You didn’t finish washing your hair.”
“I thought someone was breaking into my apartment,” I whisper yell. “Of course, I didn’t finish.”
Oscar completely ignores the part that I would have a reason to be cautious and goes right for teasing me. “Why are you still whispering?”
I grin and shake my head. “You love doing that, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Working me up.”
He reaches behind him and locks my apartment door. He stalks forward, gaze penetrating mine. He eyes the knot in my towel like he wishes it would just fall apart. Oscar and I haven’t had a lot of time together. Only at school. The football season is coming to a close. Not that you’d know it when you walked into school. No one cares. Oscar, however, puts all of his attention into it like his team is going all the way.
Oscar shakes his head. “Not sorry. I swear I didn’t come over for a booty call. I just knew we’d have a chance to see each other without fear of anyone dropping by.”
I take him in. He has on a backwards hat lower over his forehead. His tan skin highlights his dark features. Oscar has confident badass down to a T. “It’s a good thing you didn’t come over for a booty call because you wouldn’t be getting one by calling it a fucking booty call.”
I arch a brow at him, and he smirks.