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“Midnight. You?”
I leaned forward and picked up his phone. There was no lock on it. What kind of psycho didn’t have a passcode set on their phone? (Probably a trusting one, like Neil, who wasn’t actually a psycho. Not even close.) I went into his music app and changed the station to the Neighbourhood, because: Jesse Rutherford. It was already in his playlist, so I gave him another solid point for that. (And obviously, I still needed to learn a few things about boundaries, but he didn’t seem to mind.)
I set his phone back down and leaned back in my seat with a shrug. “No curfew.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “The benefits of being eighteen?”
I shook my head. “The benefit of lackadaisical parenting. So… is this, like, your first date? Ever?” I asked.
He huffed out a laugh. “No. I’ve dated before.”
I shifted in my seat, resting my elbow on his center console and my chin in my hand as I looked up at him with mockingly wide eyes. “Really?Tell me more.”
He shrugged, an amused smile lighting up his face, and his armor made a funny chinking noise in response that made me laugh. “I mean, I haven’t datedmuch,but I’ve dated,” he answered.
That’s all he was going to give me? Nope. That wasn’t going to fly. I was getting more out of him whether he wanted to give it to me or not. “And did any of these dates result in a girlfriend?” I asked. I was reaching and he could tell, but I didn’t care. I didn’t have any interest in being his girlfriend, but Iwascurious.
He shook his head. “Nah, I don’t really do the girlfriend thing,” he responded. And… interesting. I didn’t do the boyfriend thing, either. But funny how when someone tells you that you can’t have something, you only want it more. Or want it at all when it wasn’t even on your radar before. I wasn’t talking aboutme.
Okay, yes, I was definitely talking about me. I didn’t actually want that, though. Right? His lips, sure, but his commitment? No; no way.
Maybe?
I settled on not ruling it out, but that would sure as hell be interesting. Neil and me—boyfriend and girlfriend.
Okay, yeah. I liked the sound of it, and the picture it painted in my head even more. And on that note, I needed to get the hell up out of this truck and get some air.
We arrived at the party, and Jax threw his arms around us in a giant three-way hug as soon as we walked through the front doors. I hugged him back, and Neil did, too. I watched them both—their easy smiles and familiar conversation. There was an effortlessness about them together I hadn’t expected even though Jax had already explained their new dynamic to me.
I fought the pull of a genuine smile. Jax really did deserve that. And Neil… well, we already knew what I thought about Neil.
Speaking of Neil.He led me farther into the house. And when I say led, I mean he grabbed my hand like it wasn’t a thing and pulled me along after him. Feelings hadn’t really been at the forefront until this point. I’d kept my cool—mostly—during the ride over here. But now, there were a kaleidoscope of them attacking my senses.
Everything around me suddenly felt brighter, louder, and bigger. His fingers folded over mine sent quiet shockwaves through my body; my thoughts went running around, screaming in panic.
Oh, how dramatic!I mentally bitch-slapped myself.
It was his hand on my hand, for Christ’s sake.
I shook my head, brushed the thoughts away, and followed him into the kitchen, where he grabbed a beer from the fridge.
“Would you like one?” he asked.
I shook my head again. If he was drinking, I definitely wasn’t. But also, Neil was holding a beer in his hand like he was about to consume it, and my brain couldn’t compute. It sure wasn’t very holy-like.
“Isn’t that, like, illegal?” I eyed the beer in his hand. I meant it in a religious sense, but it hadn’t come out that way.
He laughed. “Well, yeah, but—”
“And breaking like, at least three commandments?” I interrupted.Oh, much better, Olivia, thanks for clarifying.
He laughed again, louder this time. “Do you even know what the commandments are, Liv?”
“Of course I do.” I scoffed.
He looked at me expectantly.
Oh,I was always up for a challenge. “Well, there’s the murder one—” I started, “—don’t want to do that. No stealing, no cheating. Don’t covet thy neighbor’s…something.”