I did not want to meet Theo’s dad. Ever. But I also really hated everything about this conversation.
Theo exhaled heavily against my lips. “I’ve had one girlfriend. I don’t know how to do anything but be a boyfriend. So excuse me for being a jackass. That’s all I know.”
“You were doing fine up until about five minutes ago. I mean, the stalking was kind of heavy handed, but you’re cute, and you eat pussy like a champ, so I can look past that.”
His smiling lips touched mine. “Thanks for being such a goddamn awesome girl. There’s no one like you, baby.”
“I know that, dude. Count yourself lucky I’m allowing you in my presence.”
I didn’t really understand why there was a knot wrapped in barbed wire in my throat, but damn, it did not feel great to swallow.
Theo kissed me again, and I let him go deep, because that felt better than listening to the words that kept coming from his torturous mouth. It went on too long and got too hot for a Sunday morning in the dining hall, but we didn’t stop until someone, somewhere, dragged a chair across the tile floor, creating a long, loud screech.
He pulled back, but not far. “I have so much to do today.”
“Me too.”
“Are you working tonight?”
“No, not tonight. I’m going to hang out with Luc and take her to dinner.”
“Tell me when you’re working. I don’t want you on the bus. I’ll drive you.”
I sighed and slumped away from him. “That sounds like a boyfriend thing.”
He leveled a hard stare at me. “You’re telling me the guys, the ones you call your ride or dies, would let you take the bus at two in the morning?”
I chewed on the corner of my lip. It had never come up while they’d lived in town, so I wasn’t completely sure. Chances were, I’d do what I needed to do without letting them know.
“If they found out, they’d probably be pissed, but I do my own thing and don’t answer to anyone. That’s how I like it.”
“Our friendship is going to work a little differently, baby. I won’t allow you to do shit that endangers you. And before you get pissed at me using ‘allow,’ let me tell you what I mean.” He tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear and ran his hand down my braid. “I like this.”
I rolled my eyes even though that little gesture sent a mini arrow straight through my chest.
“What I mean is I’m going to be there for you, so endangering yourself is not a choice. I don’t have anything going on at two in the morning, so you tell me the days you work, I’ll drive you home.”
“And end up in my bed?”
The look he gave me could have burned down the ocean. “That’s not why I’m doing it, but if you’re offering that sweet, tight little pussy, I’m never going to turn it down.”
“You know how to charm a girl, Theodore.”
He didn’t grin like I expected. His thumb stroked the center of my throat while his eyes swept over me, from lips to forehead.
“It’s not about charming you, Helen. I’m telling you like it is. This works between us because we don’t play games. We’re straight with each other. It’s a relief to have that with someone—with you. I think we get one another.”
I nodded. “I think you’re right, which is strange. You’re the last person I should get.”
His mouth tightened. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, but you will. Then I think you’ll see.”
“Cryptic.”
“Yeah,” he breathed out. “I don’t mean to be. I really do have to run.”
“All right. Let’s hit it.”
We dumped our trays, then Theo took my hand. For a guy who didn’t want to be a boyfriend, he really had a bad habit of acting like one. But I guess that was his point. This in-between kind of thing was brand new to him. It was new to me too. I sure as hell had never held hands with Bash or Gabe. The idea made me shudder, and those boys would have probably died of laughter if I suggested it.