Page 65 of A Little Jaded
Still, she wanted to lure her asshole ex out, and a game ofSpin the Bottleis the perfect way to prove she isn’t his anymore.Ifhe shows up.
I lean back, glancing around the corner toward the entrance, searching for Drake, but I come up empty.
“You don’t have to play,” I remind her.
“Yes, I do.”
“No.” I give her my full attention again. “You really don’t.”
“Ev…”
“You can take shots all night.”
“I don’t like shots,” she argues.
“Fine, you can pass them to me, and I’ll take them for you.”
“And if Drake shows up when you’re already shitfaced?”
“I think I can hold my alcohol a little better than you’re assuming,” I tell her.
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” She presses her hand to my chest, and I swear I can feel my fucking heartbeat in my throat, so I shut my mouth and wait. For what, I’m not even sure. A reason why she’s touching me might be nice, though.
Sometimes, I forget how small she is. How breakable she is. Until she’s like this. Within reach. The girl barely comesup to my collarbone, yet she’s far from a kid. Far from anyone I’ve ever met.
I look down at her hand sprawled across the LAU logo on my T-shirt. The black-tipped nails contrast with the red fabric and seriously make me wonder if I’ve been sent to Hell because this? This is starting to feel like a different kind of torture. If she were any other girl, I’d wonder what it would feel like if my T-shirt didn’t separate us. If she’s as soft as she looks. As supple.
Her eyes find mine. Those dark lashes tease me as she blinks slowly, letting them brush against her skin until her forest-green eyes meet mine again. “I appreciate your willingness to protect me from kissing a few random guys tonight.”
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm, but?—”
“Hey, Ev!” someone calls.
I clear my throat and step back when I realize exactly how close I’m standing to Raine while searching the room for the culprit.
Reeves strides closer, his curious gaze scanning the place with every passing second. “How’s it goin’?”
“About as good as can be expected,” I mutter. “Any sign of Drake?”
He shakes his head. “Not yet, but I just got an interesting text.”
My brows dip. “What kind of interesting text?”
“It’s, uh,” Reeves looks at Raine, then turns back to me. “Just to confirm, you two are still faking it, right? Because it kind of looked?—”
“Everett’s only helping me with Drake,” Raine interrupts.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “Why?”
“The text,” Reeves explains. “It’s for a job.”
My attention shoots to Raine, and fuck me, what Iwouldn’t give to know what she’s thinking. A job? Reeves wants to talk about a job when my current one stands a foot away from us? Does it bother her? Should it?
“Ev.” Reeves snaps his fingers an inch from my nose, and I jerk back.
“Not taking any more jobs until I finish this one,” I answer.