“No, but I texted him and said I was leaving.”
“Did he respond?”
“Just sent me a quick text saying I should be careful. He’s such a dad.” Knox shakes his head.
“Aw, I think that’s sweet.”
“It can be a little overbearing sometimes.” Knox pulls his phone out and brings up the rideshare app, tapping at the screen before pocketing his phone once more. “The car will be here in five.”
I study him, shock coursing through me at the turn of events. “I didn’t expect tonight to end like this.”
“Like what?”
“With me going home with you.” I frown. “Are we going to your place or mine?”
“Mine,” he says firmly. “My apartment isn’t the cleanest though.”
Uh oh. “Please tell me you wash the sheets regularly.”
“I do.”
“When was the last time?”
He frowns, thinking. “Last week?”
Relief floods me. “Okay. Good.” Last week isn’t ideal, but it’s better than most guys I know.
“Are you a neat freak, Jo Jo?”
“Nat dated a guy for a brief period our freshman year. They’d always hang out in his dorm room. One night, she shows up, and the comforter is flipped back from the sheets. She could see a grimy brown outline on the sheets and she asked him if he ever washed them. Of course, he said no. She walked out of his room right after he said that.” I make a face. “It’s become a complete dealbreaker for us.”
“That’s disgusting.” The look on his face tells me he’s just as horrified.
“Right?” I laugh. So does he.
He grabs hold of my hand unexpectedly, yanking me to him, his other hand resting low on my back. “I like your laugh,” he murmurs.
Just before he kisses me.
TWENTY-TWO
KNOX
I probably shouldn’t kissher while we’re standing out in front of Logan’s, waiting for an Uber, but fuck it.
She’s so pretty. And I like it when she laughs. The sound, how her whole face lights up and her eyes sparkle. When I’m with her, I feel pretty fucking great. Like nothing can get me down. All I want to do is make her smile.
Scratch that. All I currently want to do is pull her in close to me, feel her wrap her arms around my neck and hold her. That’s what I want.
Glancing down, I check out the outfit she’s wearing yet again. The deep V of her neckline that shows off the tops of her tits. The cropped white shirt that flashes a glimpse of her flat stomach every once in a while. It’s like she’s all covered up yet also exposed and it’s hot.
She’shot.
And interesting. I want to know more. I want to learn about her. What she likes and hates. Her favorite colors and movies and food. What she looks like in the morning when she first wakes up.
That’s what I want to know most of all.
I touch her face and cup her cheek as I drink from her lips. It’s a simple kiss. No tongue, just our mouths connecting, pulling away, reconnecting. There’s something hot about that. The restraint we’re showing. The control. I’m pent-up with need, ready to unleash it all over her, and she acts like it’s just another night where she kisses some guy in front of a bar while waiting for a car to come pick them up.