"Jessica?" he repeats and I feel his hand brush against my shoulder.
I look up and I'm immediately taken back by the petite blonde woman standing next to him.
He smiles down at me before his brow furrows. "Who is this?" He gestures towards Bryce.
"Jess and I live together. I'm Bryce." He extends a hand in front of me and it feels like an eternity before Nathan pulls it into his for a firm shake.
We don't live together I want to say. He hasn't moved in yet and it's not like that.
"You live together?" There's a hint of surprise skirting around the edges of the question.
"I'm…I am…I'm Wednesday." I stammer as I hold out my hand to the pretty woman standing next to Nathan.
"Wednesday," she repeats back to me, her hand lightly touching mine.
"Are you Tuesday?" I ask before I realize what I'm saying.
"I'm Ivy," she corrects me. "Is your name Jessica or Wednesday?"
I breathe in a deep sigh. Why did I just call myself Wednesday? Why did I have to be in this restaurant, on this day? Now that I've seen him with another of his fuck buddies I can't look him in the eye.
"We’re all set." Rebecca is back at the table, pushing some cash into her purse. "We're all settled up so we can take off."
I silently plead with her to get me out of that chair. I can't stay in this restaurant a moment longer.
"Let's go, Jess." She motions towards the door. "You too, Bryce."
He stands and I reach for the arms of the wooden chair to push myself up. Nathan's hand moves to grip my shoulder.
I slide back down, painfully aware that I'm not going to get out of this that easily.
"Jessica," he breathes across my exposed neck as he leans in close. "I'll see you tomorrow."
I turn to nod, but before I can his hand in on my chin, tilting my face into his. I briefly flash to the image of Ivy standing behind him before his lips glide across mine.
He moans into my mouth and I instinctively reach up to cradle the back of his head with my hand. His tongue pushes my lips apart, then circles mine in a primitive dance.
His breath hitches as I pull his bottom lip between my teeth. I drown in the feeling of his kiss. Everything else in the room melts away.
He pulls back slightly, his tongue tracing a path around my ear. My eyes drift open as I hear him whisper very softly, "don't fuck him tonight. Save it for me."
Chapter 14
"One could argue that it was territorial." I ease back onto the couch as I reach for the glass of amber liquid from his hand.
"Or one could say that he couldn't handle the idea of that guy's head between your legs." He raises the glass in his own hand before he downs half the bourbon.
"What if I was sleeping with him? What if we were dating and you just kissed me like that?" I took a small sip and recoiled at the taste.
"I knew you weren't dating." He takes another strong swallow.
"How?" I place the glass down on the table in front of me. Since Nathan's show of affection at the restaurant last night I've spent most of the day skirting questions from Rebecca about what was going on between the two of us.
"I saw him come in to the restaurant." He empties the glass before placing it down next to mine. "You didn't react at all when he sat down."
I'm immediately aware that he must have witnessed me coming in too. "How long were you there for?"
"Long enough to watch you laugh and play with your ponytail while you were talking."