“It means I’m taking you home, and I’m going to put us both out of our misery.”
Oh.
24
Reese
Pulling out his cell, River checks something on the screen before pressing his large, calloused palm against my lower back. I follow without protest as he guides me around the front of the building.
My anticipation rises with each passing second. Like I’m climbing to the top of a giant hill on a rollercoaster. And there’s no escape. My only option is to just let go and enjoy the ride.
But I’ve never been very good at letting go.
“Where are you taking me?” I whisper.
“I already told you.”
“Your truck is over there.” I point in the opposite direction of where he’s leading us.
“I’m not sober enough to drive, and the Uber is out front. Any more questions, Nancy Drew?”
A smile tugs at the corner of my lips before I bite my cheek to keep it at bay.
After checking the license plate on a dark blue sedan parked on the side of the street, River ushers me into the back of it. Then he slides in beside me and closes the door. My pulse jumps as the jarring sound scatters the haze of lust and bad decisions I’d had wrapped around me.
This is a terrible idea. What are we thinking? Milo will kill me when he finds out. If he finds out.
I peek over at Riv, then stare at the unvacuumed carpet beneath my worn Chucks and tuck my hands under my thighs.
It’s just one night. I can hide one night. We can pretend it never happened. My brother doesn’t have to know. And we can finally give in to what we’ve both wanted for far too long.
Since the moment we met, I’ve been curious. I’ve wanted him. And what started as purely physical has transformed into…something else that I can’t quite put my finger on. Which is ridiculous because I know River. For him, everything is just physical. There is no depth. No emotion. River doesn’t do feelings.
And I don’t do one-night stands.
So, where does that leave us? And why am I overthinking things?
It’s just one night.
This is too real. Too much. We barely know each other. But in a way, he knows me better than I know myself, even though he’s been fighting the pull between us as much as I have. He lets me feel free and supports me, pushing me to do absolutely ludicrous things that I would never do without him by my side. Like a photoshoot. And an audition tape. And climbing into the back of an Uber with the intention of having very hot, very sweaty sex with a guy who has zero intentions of ever committing to an actual relationship.
But none of that matters anyway. Anything more than a one-night-stand would never work. Milo would kill us.
Which means he can’t find out. Ever.
River’s heavy hand lands on my knee before he squeezes my thigh.
“You okay there?” River teases, his voice raw and gritty.
Looking down at where he’s touching me, I realize I’ve been bouncing my leg up and down like a freaking jackhammer as my anxiety started to eat me alive.
“Sorry,” I mutter.
“Don’t be.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he can read minds and could tell I was seconds from having a mental breakdown. Yet, with a simple touch, every doubt is replaced with that same thick haze of curiosity. Want. Need. All of it seems to drive me insane anytime he’s around.
With a thick swallow, my gaze finds his again, and my breathing turns shallow. His earlier resignation is gone, but his determination is so palpable I can hardly think straight. And by some miracle, it makes my own reservations disappear.
I want him. Not just physically. But emotionally too. I was wrong in the bar earlier tonight.
He does see me.
And no one has ever seen me before. Not really. Not without my layers pulled back to reveal the real me that I keep tucked away for safe-keeping.
And I’m tired of playing it safe. If a one-night-stand is all I can have, then I’m going to grab hold of it with both hands, and no one can stop me.
The car is silent other than the rev from the engine as River inches closer to me in the back seat.
With bated breath, I wait. Daring him to give in. To kiss me again. To push us both toward the inevitable fallout that will occur as soon as our lips touch another time.
And he is going to. I can feel it. I can see it. Hell, I can practically taste it. I lick my lips and close my eyes as my anticipation consumes me, that same insane roller coaster guiding me to the inevitable fall that has my stomach in the best kind of knots.
No wonder the ladies are always moaning in the room next to mine. This isn’t his first rodeo. It isn’t mine, either, but that doesn’t stop my insecurities from roaring their loudest. It is my first one-night stand. And to him, I’m afraid that I’m just another faceless floozy in a long list of no-strings-attached sexual encounters.
Which is all I will ever be to him.
The thought makes me pause before I shake it off and lift my chin, giving him silent permission to kiss me.
In the back of a freaking Uber.
Because I’m that desperate to see if I imagined his addictive taste earlier today.
Please say I imagined it.
“Here we are,” the driver comments, breaking the silence as he pulls up next to the curb in front of the house. Brows furrowed, I tear my attention away from River and search for the familiar voice’s owner.
My jaw drops before I scramble to cover it with indifference.
No. No, no, no. Please don’t recognize me. Please don’t recognize me.
I chant the same thought over and over inside my head as I untuck my hair in hopes of hiding part of my face from our Uber driver.
River murmurs something to him, but the blood rushing through my ears drowns it out. I’m too distracted by the fact that one of Ian’s best friends is currently behind the wheel of the car that just dropped us off at my brother’s house. Which means that if he recognizes me, then Ian is going to know where I’ve been hiding.
River slides out of the seat, and I follow him carefully, feeling like all the oxygen has been sucked out of the vehicle. If I can just get out of the damn car, then I’ll be able to breathe again. And everything will be okay.
“Nice to see you again, Reese,” the driver murmurs from the front seat. “I’ll make sure to tell Ian you said hi.”
Shit!
25
Reese
My attention darts over to a very confused, very tense River outside the car. I’m not sure if he’s going to yank me out of it or slam the door in my face and call it a night. With my luck, it’d be the latter. And I wouldn’t blame him.
River clamps his jaw shut and crosses his arms but stays quiet to see how I’ll react. Unfortunately, I feel just as helpless as he does.
Play it cool, Reese.
“Oh. Hey, Rocky. Long time, no see.” I keep my tone light and casual. “I wouldn’t bother telling Ian anything, though. He and I broke up.”
“Does he know that?” the driver challenges with an arrogant smirk.
I force myself to my feet. Then I bend at the waist and hold the asshole’s stare through the backseat of his sedan. “Yup. Thanks for the ride, Rocky. Good to see you again.”