Page 8 of Of Course, Cutie
“Right.” Burke nodded and smiled at me. “What were you listening to?”
“Uh, Guns N’ Roses, specifically Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
“Ooh, that’s a good one.” Burke grabbed the containers of chicken from his kitchen table, handing one to me, and sank onto his couch. “I didn’t think college kids listened to the classics.”
I sat softly beside him, making sure to leave plenty of space between us. “I’m not like most college kids. I inherited my taste in music from my dad.” I popped open the lid and wondered how in the hell I could eat fried chicken and look remotely attractive.
“All right, that’s cool. So what’s your favorite Guns N’ Roses song?” Burke took a bite of his chicken. Of course, he still looked all sexy.
“Patience,” I answered without even thinking.
Burke nodded. “That song is perfection. I think I have to agree with you there.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket, and after a moment, Patience started playing. He grinned at me and set his phone on the coffee table. “Damn good song.”
I smiled and closed my eyes, letting the music wash over me. When I opened them, Burke was staring at me. I laughed and melted a little under his gaze. “This song takes me back to childhood when everything was so much easier.”
“It takes me back to an easier time, too.” Quiet settled between us for a moment, and we listened to the song. When it ended, Burke asked, “What other classic bands do you like?”
“I mean, Boston, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Cream, Queen, Fleetwood Mac. Should I go on?”
“Okay, thoughts on Stairway to Heaven?”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “That song comes on and everyone needs to shut the fuck up until it’s over. Duh.”
Burke laughed out loud and slid the elastic out of his dark hair. It was thick and wavy and didn’t quite reach his shoulders. “You’re cool, Charlie.”
Fuck me. This man was so damn hot. I laughed and leaned back against his couch, relaxing a little. “Thanks, Burke. You’re all right, too.”
“Thank you.” His eyes settled on the container in my lap. “You gonna eat, cutie?”
“Uh, yeah. I just don’t know how to not look gross eating fried chicken off the bone.”
Burke burst out laughing again. “Damn, you’re cute. I’ll look the other way so that you don’t starve.”
“That would be helpful.” Did he really think I was cute? Oh shit, cute like his daughter? Or cute like Emma Stone?
We talked about music for a few more minutes while we ate. His taste in music was incredible. I could spend the rest of my life listening to old classics with Burke and be perfectly happy.
After we listened to Hotel California, Burke glanced over at me and asked point-blank, “What got your old man last year?”
I blinked in surprise. No one asked that. It felt like no one wanted to talk about it at all anymore. A part of me appreciated his directness. There was no point in dancing around the hard shit in life. It was still there, even if you pretended it wasn’t. “Uh, brain cancer.”
“That fucking sucks.”
“Yup. Sucks balls.” I met his gaze. It wasn’t full of pity, more like understanding. “What happened with Tess’s mom?”
“She cheated while I was working the oil rigs in Alaska to keep a roof over her head. We tried to fix it, but there was nothing there to fix in the first place.”
“That sucks.”
He smirked at me. “Sucks balls.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Sucks freaking balls, Burke.”
“Daddy?” Tess’s hoarse little voice called out from her bedroom.
Burke jumped up and immediately answered her call. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? What do you need?”
Good god, his sweet tenderness with his daughter was sexy.