Page 54

“Maybe.” I’m such a pushover. Luckily I was able to deposit the money from Collin’s car so our checking account is no longer in the negative. I even transferred money to Karen for paying my phone bill. No way I wanted to oweKarenmoney. I went ahead and let her pay for her son’s funeral. Because if he hadn’t been buried, I’d be in jail for murder. I would have killed him myself.
Kidding.
I think.
“Coming!” I yell at the door, as if they could hear me.
When I open the door, I’m not expecting to see the one person I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. Are you expecting him? Does your heart start jumping up and down like mine just does?
If it does, you know exactly who’s standing in front of me in all his muscle goodness.
He laughs as he stands there, all cute and hot with his baseball hat on backward. “Hey there.”
“Oh, hey. I was expecting someone else,” I say, as casually as I can. Look at me trying not to freak out that he’s staring at me. I’m not great at it.
And he notices. Smiling, he lifts his hand to his chest as if he’s hurt. “Not me?”
“No, not really.” I lean into the door, unable to stop the heat in my cheeks that he’s seen me naked. “A word to the wise, when you sleep with a woman, don’t leave a note that says thanks for the four-bagger.”
“It’s a baseball term.” His smile peeks out again as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I thought you liked the innuendos.”
“I know what it is. But it makes some women start to question their tits and ass.”
He licks his lips, and his eyes make a lazy path over my frame. I’m not exactly wearing anything revealing, yet the moment he makes a pass over my body, I feel naked again. “There’s certainly nothing wrong with either.”
“How did you remember where I lived?”
“I didn’t, really.” His expression falters. “Until I called on the room for rent.”
“Are you shitting me? That’s why you’re here?” My eyes about bug out of my head. “You’re the college kid?”
“I could be here for other reasons if you’d like,” he says suggestively, hinting at what I’d been thinking all along. “But I need a place to stay until after graduation.”
Fuck me. Seriously? What if his idea of renting a room from me includes renting my cootie? Surely my pussy has no complaints because I’m not lying when I say she’s still thinking about him, but I shouldn’t let him live here. It’d be a disaster.
“It’s still available, right?” he asks when I don’t say anything in reply.
I nod before I know what I’m doing. It’s one of those moments when your body fights against its reactions.
“Can I see the room?”
I blink slowly, still trying to process what’s happening. You’d think I’d be used to being shocked in this foyer. “You can’t be serious.”
He sweeps a hand through his hair, inspecting me with a predatory gaze. “What do you mean?”
“Stop looking at me like you’ve seen me naked.”
“I have though,” he whispers, leaning in and invading my personal space. “And I’d like to again. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”
Looking behind me, I check for Tatum and don’t see her. Stepping outside for privacy, I place my hand on his chest and move him backward a few steps. “You don’t wantthisroom.”
He chuckles and shifts his weight as if he’s amused by this. “Why not? I don’t need much, just a place to crash until graduation.”
“Why? You’re a baseball player.” I plant my hands on my hips. “Don’t you live in the dorms? Some privileged baseball dorm?”
“I did, but I got kicked out,” he admits.
“This isn’t a place for you.”