“You too, Elena. Tell me, how is my son as a neighbor?” My mother didn’t miss a beat either, slipping into her affable, every-woman, mother-of-the-year mask. “Not too loud partying all the time, I hope.”
Elena laughed politely. “Oh, not Lachlan. He’s so quiet, I barely remember he’s here.” She elbowed my side. “He can be a pain, though. I lost a bet to him so I’ve been his coffee gopher for a week. He aced our Spanish exam. I’m sure he told you that, though.”
Mom’s eyebrow arched. “Youdidn’ttell me that, Lachlan. Good for you. Though, it’s not very gentlemanly to make a woman buy you coffee this early in the morning—or ever, for that matter.”
Elena leaned into me, grasping my mom’s attention again. “Oh, don’t worry about me. A bet’s a bet. I agreed to the terms. Besides, I’ve been torturing Lachlan by bringing him frilly coffee drinks all week. He’s getting a matcha latte today.”
The laugh that burst out of my mom was more genuine than I’d heard in a while. “Good for you, Elena. Hold his feet to the fire. That’s how you have to handle Kelly men. Otherwise, they’ll run right over you.”
“I have no trouble holding my own with Lachlan,” Elena assured her.
They chatted amiably for another minute, two women who were veterans of making small talk that didn’t sound like small talk, then my mother had to go rule the world again.
“Lachlan, this discussion isn’t finished,” she warned.
“I didn’t think it was.”
She signed off with a cursory, “I love you. Talk soon.” I dropped my phone on the porch, trading it for the green drink I’d been gifted.
“No straw again?” I turned to Elena, who was watching me with sharp eyes.
“Your mom’s Senator Smythe-Kelly?”
I nodded, taking a sip of the drink. Too sweet, but not as offensive as it looked. “There’s no coffee in this.”
She flicked her fingers. “It’s coffee adjacent. How is your mom a state senator? I thought you emerged from the backwoods or something.”
“I never said that.”
“You let me believe that.”
“I told you we probably grew up similarly. My mom’s been involved in state politics since she could breathe. Her father held the same position before her.” Her huff was so indignant, I had to laugh. “You like to put words in my mouth. I’m getting a little tired of it.”
The scowl she sent me was sharp and displeased. “Then you should probably say what you mean instead of grunting and frowning at me all the time. And maybe you should stop trying to be in my space every chance you get.”
I gripped the base of her braid and tugged it, bending her head back so I could peer down at her face. The smooth column of her throat bobbed when she swallowed. Otherwise, she stayed perfectly still.
“I don’t think you mind me being in your space. You’re so used to getting your way with everyone, you like that you can’t with me, even though you want to hate it.”
She reached up and gripped my jaw, digging her nails into my scruff. “Do you want to know what I think?”
“Yes,” I murmured.
“I think you need to get over yourself, Lachlan. You don’t get to have me again.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. You can act like the ice queen all you want, but I know how warm and soft you get for me. I bet you’re warm and soft right now, aren’t you?”
“You wish,” she whispered, pushing my face away.
I dropped my hold on her hair, and she shot to her feet and down the steps in a flash. She swiveled to face me, her hands on her hips.
“I liked you because you were straightforward and took what you wanted. This—” she pointed back and forth between us, “—teasing and taunting isn’t cute to me. This is what all the assholes around here do. They play like timid little boys. If this was how you had been in the beginning, I would have been drier than the Sahara. I’m totally over these games, Lock.”
With that parting shot, she flounced away, her tiny skirt riding dangerously high on the backs of her thighs. The only reason I didn’t get up and follow was because she’d pinned me in place with the truth.
What the hell was I doing?
Elena was hot as hell in bed, but that was supposed to be where it began and ended. No connections. No commitments. Absolutely no promises. I’d walk away from Savage U clean and begin my real life in Wyoming after graduation.
But she was right. I kept coming back for more, even if it was just trading barbs and driving myself to distraction. I was the one pursuing her, forcing our interactions, not the other way around.
It wasn’t fair to either of us, but especially not her. I never wanted to be the guy who jerked women around. That wasn’t me.
Decisions had to be made, but first, it was time to get ready for class.