her.
Yeah… Dammit. Told you. She’s fucking dangerous.
We step off the bus and turn into a quiet side street. Cold slithers down my spine as I trudge after Amber. This place looks somehow familiar. I can’t put my finger on it, though.
It’s not a pretty part of town. The walls are covered in bad graffiti—which makes me itch to redo them—and there’s trash piled up on street corners. The entrances to the buildings are dirty, strewn with paper and plastic, with puddles that looks like piss. Smell like piss, too. The humid heat is unforgiving, lifting the sour stench of rotting meat and other trash, waving it into our faces.
Familiar smells. Familiar sights. I frown, shoving my hands into my pockets. So much familiar. Can’t say I feel nostalgic, though. The itch under my skin is more like remembered fear. I haven’t missed that.
“What happened to department stores?” I ask as we reach the end and find ourselves in another noisy, main street. “Shopping malls? Does that ring any bells?”
She bites her lip. “Remember I don’t like parties?”
“Yeah. What’s that got to do with it?”
“Crowds?” She shrugs. “I hate crowds.”
Right. I knew that, dammit. “So where’s this famous shop?”
“Come.” She grabs my hand, and the rest of the walk goes by in a haze, the press of her slim fingers in mine burning like a fresh brand. The fire spreads through my limbs, gathering speed as her fingers clench around mine. I catch a whiff of her scent—sunshine and coconut—and the heat shoots straight to my dick.
Hell. I harden so fast I have to slow down, reach into my jeans and adjust myself quickly. Gritting my teeth, I look up—and find Amber’s eyes on the front of my pants.
Well, fuck me with a joystick. And damn, I can’t tell what she’s thinking. Can’t see her expression.
Until she glances up, blue eyes darkening, and it’s like I’ve been hit by a freight train. Desire, that’s what it looks like, and her soft mouth is so close, I only need to take one step to close the distance between us and—
“The shop is here,” she says, swallowing hard, and gestures at something behind me.
What? I turn as if through water and blink at the small shop fronts lining the noisy street.
…Right. My brain slowly catches up. The shop we came for.
I belatedly nod, but she’s already walking by, leaving me behind.
I scrub a hand over my face.
You’re so stupid, Jesse, thinking you can read her. She’s not the kind of girl you’re used to. She isn’t looking for a night of cheap fun with you, have you forgotten? She doesn’t even really like you.
Besides, she deserves better, and you know it.
I’m distracted. Hell, I’m going out of my fucking mind inside the small, stuffy shop with Amber so close and yet so far she could be on the far side of the moon. She holds out pants and shirts for me to check. I grab them from her, give them a cursory glance and throw them on a handy nearby chair.
Why in the holy fuck did I ever think this was a good idea?
“What do you think of this one?” she asks, drawing me out of my latest self-flagellation. She’s holding a gray metallic mini dress to her chest.
“It would certainly flatter my legs,” I say automatically, not even bothering to check if my mouth is connected to my brain. “Don’t know about the cleavage, though. I think I’ll need a Wonderbra to pull it off.”
She gapes at me.
Yeah. Okay, maybe it wasn’t so funny. “Of course, it would suit you, too.” I try to salvage the situation. “You won’t even need a Wonderbra. And you can wear heels, so…”
I wince.
When she claps a hand over her mouth, I’m sure it’s to keep from insulting me and my mother—though who my mother is, I don’t know, so why should I care?
But the sound escaping her is more like laughter.