Page 31 of Theirs to Hunt (Girls Like Us #1)

Chapter thirty-one

T he walk back from dinner hums with that slow, sticky heat New Orleans does too well. Thick air. Quiet streets. That sense that anything could happen if you let it.

He walks beside me. Reign? Brooks? Whatever his name is, the energy is too similar for them to be different people. One hand in his pocket, the other brushing mine now and then. He’s giving me the option to take it.

We talked about nothing, but it felt like everything. Music. Gumbo or etouffee. Weird gym rituals. Each answer like we were picking up where we left off in a life I don’t remember living.

Every time his shoulder bumped mine, I had to pretend it was accidental. Every time he laughed, I had to look away before I got addicted to the sound.

He hasn’t pushed. Hasn’t tried to kiss me. It’s maddening .

“So,” I say, glancing up at him as we round the corner near my street, “how often do you get your dates from gyms?”

He chuckles low, holding back the full laugh like he’s saving it. “Only the ones who earn it.”

We stop outside my building. The air buzzes with crickets and something else. Something electric.

I need to make a move. Let him know I’m not clueless. “If you want to come in, we could watch a movie. Have a drink?”

He laughs deeper this time. “What would we watch? Bambi ? Something scary so I could hold you?”

I scoff. “Actually, I was thinking The Ghost and the Darkness. Would you cling to me instead, Simba?”

I’m free tomorrow,” he says, voice low. “Let me take you out properly. We can talk…”

His eyes hold mine. The pause stretches.

“…about a lot of things.”

I lean against the gate, lips twitching. “Like with real silverware and not gym sweat between us?”

“Exactly.”

“Deal.”

He steps closer as I tilt my head toward him. A dark thrill curls in my belly.

I can feel the pulsing anger coming from the vehicle still creeping behind us.

He leans down, lips just about to brush mine…

A car alarm blasts through the moment, shattering it.

He steps back, eyes still locked on mine. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, little fawn.”

He turns and walks away.

I hesitate, then call after him. “Brooks?”

He turns.

I flash him a Cheshire grin. “Checkmate.”

He shakes his head. “This move was just check, Bambi.”

I watch him disappear into the night.

Only move once he’s gone.

And even then, only to touch my fingers to my lips.