Cruz studied him before slowly lifting his hand. “Do you go by Dick… or Richard?”
Richard smirked. “Ah, you must be the rock star. Well, if things go my way, I’m guessing you’ll want to call me Dick. See you Friday, Jade.”
He adjusted his bag over his shoulder and winked before walking away.
Awkward.
Cruz leaned down and picked up my bag and my backpack. “You ready?”
“Yes. Of course.” I was still in shock that he was here. In person.
We made our way outside, and he reached for my hand and interlaced our fingers as he led me through the crosswalk. Just the simple touch of his skin against mine had my body reacting in crazy ways. I was hot. And flustered. When he pulled his hand away and tossed my bags in his car, I missed his touch already. We both slipped inside.
“Hey,” he said, looking at me as he started the engine.
“Hey. So how did you get my dad to agree to this? I didn’t think you were going to be in town.”
“We’re friends, right? Why wouldn’t I come see you? I didn’t think you’d mind,” he said.
I studied him. Was he messing with me? “Of course, we are. I just didn’t know you’d be here.”
“I wanted to be here. I missed you, More Jade.”
“I missed you too.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.
“So, is that the guy? Are you dating him now? Did I mess things up for you?”
He tried to keep it light, but I saw the concern on his face. The tic in his jaw. But it wasn’t my job to rescue Cruz right now. This was exactly what I was worried about.
Old habits die hard.
“I’m not dating him. I agreed to have dinner with him Friday.”
I waited for the jealous rage. The anger. The overreaction. It never came. He seemed completely calm. Who was this boy sitting beside me? He was as confident as ever, but he appeared calmer now. More mature, maybe?
“Okay, good. I wouldn’t want to mess anything up for you,” he said, glancing over at me before returning his eyes to the road.
I studied his profile. He looked incredible. Healthy. Gorgeous. “Wow, that MMA fighting is really paying off for you, huh? You look really good.”
“Thanks. I like it. You’ll have to meet Gio, my trainer. He lives in the city, but he tours with us now.”
“Are you back in Chicago for long?”
“Nope. We head out tomorrow. I moved things around so I could be here tonight. But we’re doing a lot fewer shows this year. Our home base is here now, not on a tour bus. It’ll be much more manageable.”
I squirmed in my seat at the thought of him being around more. I couldn’t breathe. And was it unusually hot in here? I fiddled with the nobs on his dashboard. “Is the heat on?”
He laughed. “Nope. The AC’s on high.”
I put the window all the way down and pushed my head outside for more air. Being in these close quarters with him had all my alarm bells going off. We were on the freeway and my hair was whipping all over the place. But he was too close. It was too much. And I’d just gotten here. I squeezed my eyes closed and thought about the day I woke up on the floor in the hotel room. I reminded myself that I needed to yield where Cruz was concerned. I couldn’t rely on blind faith anymore.
He tugged at my hand and laughed, shouting over the wind thrashing through the interior, “Get in here. What are you doing?”
“Sorry. They didn’t have a lot of wind in Honduras. I missed it.”
He chuckled before pulling in front of the firehouse and turning to face me. A sexy smile spread across his face as his gaze zoned in on my chest. I looked down to see what he was staring at. And oh my. My body really was reacting to his nearness. Betraying me like a married man in a whore house. Let’s just say someone had her headlights on—scratch that. I had my floodlights on full beam, and my fitted white T-shirt did nothing to help the situation. I used both hands to cover my boobs and bit down hard on my bottom lip. Jesus. I was not prepared for this.
“Did you get new nipples in Honduras?” He laughed.
I buried my face in my hands. “Friends don’t talk about nipples, Winslow.”
“Friends don’t get hard nipples when they see one another either, More Jade.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. My body is adapting to a new climate.”
He stepped out of the car and came around and opened my door. “Is that so?”
“It is so.”
“Okay, well I’d turn the headlights off before we go inside and see your father.” He stared down at me with a playful smirk.
“What? How am I supposed to turn them off?”
“Don’t ask me. I’m pretty fucking sure I’m the guy who turned them on.” He reached for my hand and helped me out of the car.
“You are not. I turned them on. And I can turn them off.” I pulled the neck of my shirt away from my body and blew down toward my chest with a few huffs. Maybe they just needed to cool down.
“I don’t think that’s going to do it. They seem to like that.” He zeroed in on my boobs again, and I started sweating profusely.
“Stop looking at them,” I hissed.
“You want me to help you out? Maybe I could top you off or something? Get the girls to calm down?” He leaned forward, invading my space. His warm breath tickled my cheeks. His lips so close to mine I had to close my eyes in order to focus.
“No,” I said, pushing him away from me.
He rested his back against the car and crossed his legs at the ankles while he stared at me with a teasing grin on his face. “Let me know if I can be of service.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Oh my gosh. Please stop talking for a minute.”
I looked down at my chest and then back at Cruz and he wriggled his brows. I shook my head. “Stop looking at me, too. Close your eyes for a minute.”
He closed his beautiful honey brown eyes and chuckled. “Does Dick make your nipples hard when he looks at you?”
Unfortunately, no.
Dick doesn’t do much for me.
“Absolutely. It’s a new thing for me. They respond to everyone. Okay, you can open now, it’s all under control.”
“Sure, it is.”
He grabbed my hand to lead me inside and I yanked it away. I was fairly certain that’s what started this whole nipple-gate and I didn’t need to walk into the firehouse with my headlights on. He just chuckled beside me and held the door open.