He wanted me to be soft. The crazy thing was, I imagined maybe I could be with him.
“Maybe,”I mouthed back.
I wasn't soft. That wasn’t me. Not because I wasn’t capable, but because it had never been safe for me to be that way.
But I could try.
“No.”
“Okay.”
I could try.
I gave Lock a hug by his truck. He was stiff, and so was I, but I was trying this being soft thing, and that seemed to be something people did. They hugged their friends hello and goodbye.
“Best burger ever,” I said.
Theo tugged me back to his side. “I agree. Fucking delicious.”
Lock nodded once. “Don’t spread it around. Some greedy asshole will swoop in and try to make some green off it.”
“Maybe the owners want to make some green,” I replied.
“Maybe.” Lock put his hand on the door of his truck. “And they might. I just don’t want any part in destroying the good that’s already there.”
Theo patted his heart. “Secret’s safe, man.”
My eyes bugged. “Who am I going to tell?”
Lock climbed into his truck without another word.
“I like him,” I said.
Theo grunted.
“You like him too.”
He could deny it, but Lock was quietly likable. He told us about his job, his major, the piece-of-shit house he lived in off campus, the small town he was from in Northern Cali. He did this all in as few words as possible, which I appreciated. I also liked watching him eat. He packed away the food, tucking it in the small, soft gut he carried—which only made him more of a teddy bear—but he looked like he truly enjoyed everything he put in his mouth. I could’ve seen him starring on one of those Food Network shows where they went around to divey restaurants to taste test massive portions of local fare. His groans of pleasure would get all the housewives in a tizzy.
So, maybe I had a tiny crush on Lock. Notthatkind of crush, but yeah. Lock was awholething.
“He’s fine, but he was in my way. Now, he’s out of my way, I don’t need to spend time talking about him.”
Theo took my hand, and we walked across the parking lot to his car, which he pinned me against. My breath stuttered at the intense sweep of his gaze over me, and I forgot Lock ever existed. It was just me and Theo now.
I tipped my head back, giving him the permission he was seeking. He wasted no time in taking my mouth, slipping his tongue between my lips to give me a deep, wet kiss.
My fingers fisted his T-shirt. He took handfuls of my ass, flattening me against him. He kept kissing me, groaning into my mouth, and I kissed him back. He tasted like mint and icy water. I licked the inside of his mouth, taking his flavor with me, mewling for more.
Theo could kiss. He kissed the hard out of me and found my soft. He lapped at it until I felt like I was going to fall apart and shatter into a thousand pieces in his arms. It wasn’t quite dark, we were in a public parking lot, but when his hand slid inside my shorts, I didn’t stop him. Then he pushed my underwear to the side, and I opened my legs a little wider, inviting him in.
“Tell me to stop, Tiger,” he murmured against my lips. “Tell me you don’t want me touching you.”
I grabbed his arm and held it tight to my belly. “If we get arrested, I expect you to bail me out.”
I felt his smile even as his fingers drew a line along my slit. “No one’s gonna see you. This is just for me, baby.”
My back was pressed against the car. His body shielded mine. I was clothed. So was he. And in that moment, I didn’t care about any of it. I could have been naked and on fire so long as Theo continued what he was doing to my clit. My hips rolled with the movement of his hand, chasing his retreat until he came back to me again and again.