I expect Kade to slide in across from me, but instead, he slides in right next to me, forcing me to scoot over more.
"TV's up there," he says by way of explanation.
"Then I'll sit over there," I murmur, nudging him to move.
"You're already sitting down. We came to talk, and you'll have to talk louder if you sit over there. Just stay where you're at. I don't bite."
Cynthia, a waitress, walks up to take our order, interrupting whatever argument I might have had. We both order, and Cynthia offers her wink of approval when she misconstrues the situation. Now even more people are going to think we're dating. I try to think of how to broach the topic of our gossip issues.
"Um... Kade?"
"Yeah," he says distractedly, keeping his eyes focused on the TV and the game. "You ready to spill?"
Spill? Spill what? I tense up. Surely he doesn't think I started these rumors. Is that what he means?
"What do you mean?"
"I mean about you. How'd you end up here?"
I almost feel my body visibly relaxing. He doesn't know yet. Wait. He's asking about me?
"I've lived beside you since the semester started, and you're just now curious?"
"You lived beside me, now you're living with me. Yes, now I'm curious."
Fair enough.
His smartass remark is followed by a daring grin that is too charming to stare at for too long. I refuse to dissolve like an idiot for the guy who has more money than manners.
"I grew up in Utah, wanted a good education and a fresh start, made good grades, got great scholarships, and came here. End of story."
His grin only grows as he turns to face me, finally peeling his eyes away from the TV sportscast.
"I doubt that. There's no way that's the whole story. Why did you need a fresh start?"
Because Ray Capperton was really Ray Drivel - conman extraordinaire. I was trash that no one would take seriously all because my father went to prison for swindling millions of dollars we never knew he had. I went from a decent home to a dilapidating trailer in less than a week after the FBI stormed our small town and caused a hellacious scene. Yeah... Probably shouldn't tell him that.
"I just wanted to branch out... spread my wings. How about you?"
Definitely a better answer.
"Simple," he says, shrugging. "My family lives nearby. I didn't want to branch out. My Granddad doesn't have a lot of time left. I wanted to be near to him."
Crap. Now I'm dissolving. He's not supposed to have any redeeming qualities.
His arm slips to be on top of the booth's back, just behind my shoulders. I only pray he doesn't notice that movement made me shiver and tense in one breath.
Cynthia brings our coffees over to the table, smiling and winking at me once again. Kade doesn't notice, thank God. This is so bad. He's going to freak out when he finds out.
"So, do you have a boyfriend? I'd like to know when to make myself scarce. I definitely don't want to hear crazy sounds in the middle of the night."
His teasing grin makes me blush, but I roll my eyes instead of shying away the way he most likely expects me to. A bitter snort sneaks out unbidden, but I straighten up and try to recover, hoping he didn't notice.
"No. No crazy sex sounds will be waking you in the middle of the night."
He smiles bigger, drawing me into a mesmerized trance when my eyes fixate on his damned perfect lips. A sliver of silver inside his mouth catches my eye when he draws his cup up to his lips, but I don't study it for fear I look like a fool staring at his frigging mouth... again.
I start sipping my coffee when I manage to rip my eyes away from him and his dangerously perfect mouth that makes all the wrong things heat up.