Page 25 of Heart Like Yours
“I should get going,” I state abruptly.
“Do you need a ride home?” Garrett asks, his brows pulling together in concern.
I shake my head. “It’s only a ten-minute walk back to my place.”
He shifts in his seat and clears his throat. “It’s after ten o’clock. I don’t mind giving you a ride.”
My eyes widen and I mumble a curse while tapping my phone screen. “I didn’t even realize how late it was.”
Garrett stands, pulling his keys from his pocket as he tilts his head toward the door.
“Come on. I pass your place anyway on my way home.”
Considering how much time I’ve spent today trying not to think about him, logically, I know that getting into a car with Garrett is the opposite of helpful. Yet, ever the masochist, I nod and follow after him.
Neither of us speaks while we head out and walk side by side to his car parked across the street.
“What are you doing?” I ask when he follows me to the passenger side.
“This,” he states while reaching for the door handle and opening it for me. I stand frozen for a second, trying to think of the last time anyone did something so simple for me. None of the guys I have dated would have even thought about doing such a simple thing, not that I’m dating Garrett. He’s just being polite.
Although the way he kissed me was anything but casual politeness.
No, if anything, the simple act should just serve as a reminder for how low my bar is when it comes to men. I lookup at him, finding him already watching me, and realize he’s waiting for me to get in the car.
“Sorry,” I murmur and quickly get in.
He shuts the door behind me and rounds the hood. The intoxicating, spicy scent of his cologne wraps around me, nearly drawing a moan from my throat. Reaching for the seat belt, I distract myself with getting buckled while Garrett settles in behind the wheel.
My mouth goes dry when he puts a hand on the back of my seat and twists toward me while he looks over his shoulder to help him back the car out. He has absolutely no right to look as hot as he does when simply driving his car. I bite my bottom lip and turn toward the window, not wanting him to see just how affected I am.
“So,” he says, startling me after driving for a couple minutes. “Are we going to talk about last night or continue to act like it never happened?”
“Um, we can,” I say dumbly. My face heats and all I can do is stare out the windshield.
Garrett clears his throat. From my peripheral, I watch as he shifts in his seat. “If I made you feel uncomfortable or made you feel forced to?—”
“You didn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to,” I interrupt, twisting to face him fully now. “It was…”The best kiss I’ve ever had.
Garrett glances at me quickly with a frown before focusing back on the road.
“With the way you left, I thought I might have overstepped.”
I reach out to place a reassuring hand on his arm. “It wasn’t that. The kiss was perfect. I only left because I know if I stayed, I would have—” I slam my mouth shut, not letting the words out of just how far I would have gone. Embarrassment courses through my veins as I snatch my hand back.
He pulls up in front of my building, swiftly parks the car, unbuckles his seat belt, and turns to face me.
“You would have what?”
I shake my head, glancing out the window. “Nothing. That’s not the point. You didn’t force me to kiss you or make me uncomfortable.”
Well, that’s kind of a lie. He did make me uncomfortable but only in the sense that because of one kiss, I was up all night imagining what it would be like to feel his lips on other parts of my body. Even a date with my trusty vibrator didn’t fully ease the ache caused by the way I crave him.
Movement from the corner of my eye makes me turn back, and I look just as he’s extending a hand across the center console to place on top of mine. A comfortable warmth spreads across my skin at his touch. He leans in, and like a moth to the flame, so do I. The air between us crackles as we both pause inches apart.
Garrett reaches up, gently sweeping a stray hair from my face. My skin tingles at his touch as he traces down my jaw.
“Do you want to do it again?”