I groaned. “I’m so stupid. Please, don’t yell at me anymore. Even though I still don’t know why you’re here. Why are you here?”
“I’m fixing your window,” he snapped.
“With no one home? You just let yourself in?” I asked and set down the rolling pin. I was an idiot. I was that stupid heroine in every horror show who got killed at the beginning before the opening credits even rolled. I was Drew Barrymore popping popcorn and talking about scary movies.
“We all have keys. Of course, I let myself in. I can’t work around your timeline to fix your house.”
“You don’t have to fix anything.” I sighed.
“Like your landlord’s going to do it?”
“He’s a dick, but he sometimes sends people.”
“Who fuck shit up that I need to fix again anyway.”
“Stop being so growly.”
“I’m not growly. I’m me. Get over it.”
He was right about that. He was just being himself—an asshole.
“Why are you here, Tanner?” I asked, frowning at him. While he was growling at me, he didn’t meet my eyes. And that was weird, considering Tanner always met my gaze. It was hard to think around him because that’s what he did. He looked straight at me, and it made me swallow hard and think about things I probably shouldn’t. He always met everybody’s gaze when he talked to them, and he didn’t lie. He might not say everything and could lie by omission, but he didn’t outright lie. I’d always respected him for that.
“As I said, I’m here to fix your window.”
“And?”
“Natalie.”
I narrowed my eyes and let out a huff of breath. “You want to make sure I’m not going to tell anybody. I’m not, Tanner. I told you I wouldn’t. Have I ever once broken my word to you?”
“No, but you never know. It could happen.”
“Really? After all this time, I’m just going to suddenly out you? I would never do that to you, Tanner. I don’t know why you’re doing what you are. I don’t know why that’s your chosen profession, but more power to you.”
He snorted. “That’s what you’re going with?”
“What? You’re doing it to pay for college, am I right? Good for you.”
“I’ve become a cliché,” he said, shaking his head before running his hand through his hair.
“Not really. If I were stripping to pay for college, then I’d be a cliché.”
He quickly looked over my shoulder, and I sighed. “Nobody’s here. They’re not going to find out. I’m not going to tell them. Though I don’t think they would ever look down on you if you did tell them.”
“I’m already the poor kid in the group. I don’t need to be the poor stripper.”
I shook my head. “We don’t put labels on each other. And remember, Nessa’s the one who might need to drop out of school.”
He winced. “Oh.”
“So, you see? You’re not the saddest case between all of us. If anything, I’m the sad one.”
He looked at me and then threw his head back, laughing. “I’m so sorry, little trust fund baby. Tell me how bad your life is.”
“I’m not saying it’s bad. I was just saying that not everything in life is perfect.”
“Why? Didn’t get the Prada handbag you wanted?”
“Of course, not. I was looking for Chanel.”
His eyes crossed. “I have no idea what any of that means.”
“You don’t have to. If I wanted to live up to my family’s and former friends’ expectations, I’d have a Birkin bag. But that’s sort of what you get when you get caught up in those circles.”
“Seriously, you’re saying words, opening your mouth and speaking, yet…nothing.”
I shook my head and laughed. “I’m pretty much just rambling at this point.”
“Good. While I joke that you’re some trust fund baby, you’re not like the girls you were with at the club.”
I cringed. “I think that’s a compliment.”
He shrugged as he put his tools away. I did my best not to stare at his muscles. It was challenging not to look.
“I guess it is. They were rude to the staff, at least a few of them were. A couple of them were nice, but they didn’t tip well. You left, so I didn’t get to see how you tip.”
“I would’ve tipped decently. At least, I think so. I did tip that one waiter.”
“Ah, yes, I saw you tip Jason on his way to the other table. Friends of yours?”
I nodded. “Yes. At least friendly acquaintances who could become friends. You know how school is.”
“I do,” he said as he stuck his hands into his pockets. He still hadn’t put on a shirt.
“Who are you, Natalie Blake?” he asked, and I blinked.
“You know who I am, Tanner Hagen.”
His eyes lit up. “Do I?”
“You do. You’ve known me for a couple of years now. I don’t keep secrets, Tanner. It’s kind of difficult when you have a group of friends who are friendly with another group and we become a conglomerate.”
He grinned at me. “I guess that is true.”
I had moved into the bedroom, so I was only two feet away from him now, and it was hard to focus. He was just so beautiful. He probably wouldn’t have appreciated me thinking that, but he was. His body looked as if it had been chiseled from stone. The angles on his face were harsh, yet his lips were soft. And the way he looked at me? His eyes weren’t hard chips of ice. Instead, I saw softness there.
I didn’t understand why, though.
“That’s a nice dress, Natalie,” he said out of the blue.
I blushed. “Thank you. I had lunch with my parents, and my mother picked it out for me to wear.”
“You let your mother dress you?”
I crossed my eyes. “No, but this is what she likes, so why start a fight over something that is easily remedied?”
“You fight with your parents, then?”
I shrugged. “Only about my future. But they’re not that bad.”
“Hmm,” he said.
Why was it so hard to concentrate when he was around? “Anyway, thanks for fixing the window.”
“I only somewhat fixed it. I don’t have the right tools to finish.”
“What tool do you need?” I asked. Given the way he smirked, I couldn’t help but wonder exactly where his mind had gone. Of course, when my gaze moved down that chest of his to where that trail of hair disappeared into his jeans, I knew my mind had gone there, too.
“You surprise me so much, Natalie,” he whispered. He was so close to me now. I hadn’t realized he had moved. Or maybe I had been the one who moved.
I could feel the heat of him. And then his hand was on my face, his palm cupping my cheek, his fingers in my hair.
“What are you doing?” I whispered, my pulse racing.
“Finishing what we started.”
And then his lips were on mine, and I groaned. I sighed, wrapping my arms around him. He was hot and slick, and the feel of his naked skin under my palms made me want to swoon right there. Seriously, my knees were about to give out. Tanner had his hand around the back of my neck now, the other on my hip, keeping me steady. His tongue was tentative at first, as if he wondered if I would push him away.