Page 28 of In Case You Didn't Know

“How is she?” he asks, looking concerned.

“Drunk as a skunk,” I tell him.

He walks around to the passenger seat and opens the car door. Autumn is snoring loudly. Parker unclips her belt and softly shakes her, kissing her brow as he does. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you to bed.”

Her eyes open. “Hello gorgeous,” she slurs.

He smiles and pulls her toward him, lifting her into his arms. She loops her arms around his neck and nestles her face against his chest. “I missed you,” she mutters.

“Missed you too, sweetheart.” He looks at me. “Thanks for picking her up, man.” Then he carries her inside, leaving me and Francie alone in the quiet.

I close the car door and circle around to her. The light on the second floor comes on.

“You okay?” I ask her.

“I’m fine.” She nods. “Thank you for picking us up.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” I take a breath. “If someone’s giving you trouble at work – a customer, co-worker, whatever – you can tell me.” I reach out like an idiot and tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She stares up at me for a moment, and all I can think about is kissing her.

“I didn’t go to the sex club to have sex,” she blurts out.

My lips twitch. Why is she always so unexpected? “What?”

“You told me the truth, so I should do the same. I didn’t go to the sex club for sex.”

There’s a pulse thudding in my ear. “Then why did you go?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Can’t or won’t?” I ask.

She leans against the car, and I catch the outline of her nipples beneath that gold top. No bra.

“Does it matter?” she asks. There’s that ghost of a smile on her lips.

“I could make you tell me,” I murmur.

“How exactly do you plan to do that?” she asks, her voice teasing. “Have you invented some kind of truth serum to go with your world changing algorithms?”

“Sadly not. Though it would be useful sometimes.” I give her a wry smile and she grins back. She’s still leaning against the car, looking up at me, our height difference making her have to angleher head up. I look at her lips again, wondering if they feel as soft as they look.

“Did you really think I was in danger at that club?” she asks, her voice low. A cloud drifts over the half-moon hanging high in the sky, casting a dark shadow all around us.

“Yeah.” I nod.

“And you came to save me.” Her lips part as she inhales.

“Of course I did.”

“Because I’m Autumn’s best friend.”

I swallow. “I wasn’t really thinking about Autumn right then. I just saw you and…” I shake my head. “I don’t like people getting hurt.”

For a second she says nothing. Our eyes are locked, our breaths synchronized. “You saved me.”

Fucking hell. It’s like she knows how to hit every damn button in my body.

“I’m not a hero.”