Page 41 of Forbidden Kisses

"What's wrong?"

"Don't you want to take a detour or something?"

He frowned. "What?"

I sighed. "I was hoping the drive would take longer."

He groaned. "Riley, stop right there, or instead of dropping you off, I will drive you right back to the condo fordinner."

The way he said the word made it clear that he had plans far beyond dinner. Sexy plans.

Ugh. Why did I agree to go out with my roommates?

Though right now, I wouldn’t mindin the leastif he whisked me back to the condo and did whatever he wanted to with me. But I didn't get a chance because Christine ran out of the house and opened the car door with a grin.

"Finally! We thought you'd never come home. Thank you for bringing her, Duncan." She winked at him.

"My pleasure." His voice sounded robotic.

"Thank you. I'll see you on Monday," I murmured as I got out of the car.

He just nodded.

Maybe this is for the better. Maybe we’ll both cool off by Monday.

Somehow, though, I doubted it. Because there was more I wanted to learn about my boss too.

"You're not really having fun, are you?" Julia asked two hours later.

"What makes you say that?" Iwascounting down the minutes until I could make an excuse and go home. But I didn't want my friends to feel guilty, so I said, "Come on, let's do some shots."

Julia winked at me. We'd done two rounds, so I was already on thin ice. I thought having a drink or two would make me enjoy this more, but no such luck.

Objectively, it was nice. The music was pleasant, and I liked that it was in an open space. But in all honesty, this had never been my scene. Partying always felt like a waste of time, not to mention that I was always exhausted the day after. But I liked spending time with my friends, so I braved it for them.

After the third shot, Julia decided we needed a fourth one too.

I was going to get drunk if I continued at this pace, but oh, what the hell. This summer was the last one we had as college girls before we started our jobs. It was probably one of the last times we were going to do this, and I wanted to enjoy it even though I’d much rather have spent the evening doing something else.

Usually, I would have curled up with a good book, but now other things came to mind. I could have watched some cartoonswith Jeremy and done his evening routine—though by this time, he’d have long been in bed. Then perhaps Duncan and I could have stayed up chatting, maybe while drinking a glass of wine.

Damn it. I should have forgone this evening to hang out with him.

"You're in deep thought," Julia said. "Do I want to know what you're thinking?"

I shook my head.

"Yeah, I thought so. I bet you’re wondering why you're even here."

I pouted. "Is it that obvious?"

She laughed. "I just know you very well."

"I don't want to be a party pooper."

"Then let's dance."

And dance we did. But the four shots went right to my head, and I couldn’t keep it up for very long.