This time he outright laughed at me. “Woman, I haven’t gotten near as close as I want and you’re already quivering. Village Fest is going to be a riot.”
“At Village Fest, I’ll be standing as close to Brady as I can get,” I threw back at him. “Just like you’ll be next to Sandy, I assume.” If he wanted to irk me, I’d do the same to him. “I haven’t gotten anything good in weeks and I’m sure he’ll give it right up.”
“You baiting me, Meek?” he growled.
“Would you classify what you’re doing to me as that?” I shot back.
“Only if it’s working.” He quirked a brow innocently.
“I’m contemplating pouring this hot caramel on you,” I said under my breath.
“I’d take it if you promised to lick it off.”
That time, my stomach clenched along with my thighs and I felt my body practically beg me to give in to him. Goosebumps skittered across my skin and Jay dragged a finger along the ones up my arm. “This is just the start of us, little pebble. Don’t think I’m going to bed you and then let you forget about me. Not after the night we had together.”
I glanced around to make sure Lorraine and Delilah weren’t listening. “We got carried away. Neither of us was ready for something serious. We saw that when you didn’t shoot down Sandy at the grocery store.”
“Is that what all this is about? Woman, it was so far from my mind, I didn’t think to shoot her down. It was never an option. I got you in front of me. I don’t see anyone else.”
“Jay.” I sighed, his words melting me just like the caramel in front of me. “You might think you’re ready to commit, but I think we need to play it by ear. See how things go. I can’t have expectations this early on. I’ll push you too hard. I’ll ramp up my Type A drive to make it the best relationship and I—” My hand shook as I lifted the back of my wrist to push my hair from my face. “I can’t fail again.”
He crossed his arms and shook his head at me. “Little one, it’s not a failure when you get out of a bad situation. It’s a win. And you really think ‘friends with benefits’ is going to work for us?”
I shrugged. “Why not? You don’t have to commit and I get my iron headboard banging.”
“What about Brady?”
“It’s just a date.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m beginning to hate you saying it’s just anything.” He sighed. “You want to play the game with Brady, fine. I’ll play. And I’ll win.”
He pushed off the counter and called Lorraine and Delilah back in before I could respond.
He resumed his charismatic attitude and charmed all of us the rest of the night as we worked.
At one point, a rap song came on the radio and he actually danced and sang every single word to Lorraine like she needed them enunciated to her.
“I looked up this song,” Lorraine told us. “I wanted to know what a WAP was. Guess what, I have one and every man who has been with me loves it.”
Delilah’s cheeks turned pink and her eyes bulged. “Lorraine! Mikka is going to think you are…”
“What?” Lorraine asked. “She worked in a porn store her whole life. Haven’t you heard?”
“Lorraine!” I mimicked Delilah’s tone. “Didn’t you tell me you weren’t a gossip?
Jay chuckled as he took some pie bags out. “She lied.”
“Proud of it,” Lorraine retorted and went back to pouring caramel. “And speaking of whores, because Delilah was about to call me one, Sandy wants to come help set up the pie stand at Village Fest tomorrow.”
At the mention of her name, I turned the stove burner up a bit. We all knew why she’d jumped on the bandwagon to help.
“She’s excited to be all over Jay,” Lorraine continued, and Jay turned his back on me so I couldn’t see his reaction. “And Jay, I’ll have you know that she is spreading around her status with you like wildfire. You intend on doing anything more than you already have with her, you better be prepared for the town to get a play by play of it the next day.”
He carefully pulled pies out of the oven and didn’t look up or respond to her at all. I wanted him to acknowledge her words, to say he didn’t want anything to do with Sandy, to shut down the gossip mill about him with anyone other than me immediately.
He didn’t do any of that, though.
I wasn’t sure if this was part of the game.