Page 77 of The Scientist

“Remember what I said, Hadley.”

I didn’t bother responding as I walked off.I found Sarah and told her I was taking Stuart home.

“You need help?” she asked as she watched Stuart barely able to keep his eyes open.

“No, I’m good. I just need to talk to Dan and Peter.”

“I’ll go get them,” Sarah offered, making her way towards the guys.

Dan and Peter walked away from their company begrudgingly.

“Do we really have to go?” Peter whined.

“There’s still a few more hours until the bars close,” Dan added.

“Stuart here won’t make it a few more hours,” I pointed out. “But I’ll take him. You guys can stay and have fun.”

“You sure?” Peter asked. He couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

“Yeah, I was ready to go anyway.” Merrick had effectively killed my buzz.

The night had grown cooler, and I began to really regret my choice of outfit. My arms and legs were covered in goosebumps as Peter and Dan helped me get Stuart to the car.

“Thanks, Hadley!” they called to me before slamming the car door shut and heading back inside.

Stuart fell asleep on my shoulder and was snoring in less than thirty seconds. I had to shake him awake when we made it back to the townhomes. He could barely stand as I held up most of his weight, walking him back to his house. He couldn’t answer me when I asked if he had his keys, so I had to do what I was dreading and knock on the door to see if Lex was home. I decided if he didn’t answer, I would just haul Stuart over to my house so he could sleep it off on my couch.

Thinking ten seconds was plenty enough time to wait, I hurried to leave like the coward I was. Just as I turned to depart, the door swung open to reveal Lex standing there, looking wide awake despite the late hour. My traitorous eyes let the amorous part of my brain know that he was shirtless.Think, Hadley, think.I was still mad at him, right?

My heart beat a little more rapidly when our eyes met.We stared at each other wordlessly as the seconds ticked by. His gaze was full of longing as it caressed the edges of my face. I couldn’t look away. That is, until Stuart groaned loudly.

“Damnit,” Lex said, finally noticing Stuart. He grabbed Stuart from me and helped him over to the couch. “The idiot shouldn’t have drank this much.”

“No kidding,” I huffed.

“Best. Night. Ever!” Stuart yelled out to no one in particular from the couch. Within seconds, the loud snoring started up again.

“Where are Dan and Peter?” Lex asked, looking around.

“They weren’t ready to leave just yet.”

“Some friends,” he muttered.

I drank in the sight of him, the alcohol making me stare at his bare chest without restraint. Rational Hadley was working overtime trying to remember that he had insulted her earlier and that we’d gotten into a fight over it. But carnal Hadley kept pushing the memory down.

“Thanks for bringing him home.” His voice was low and mesmerizing.

“No problem,” I heard myself say. We continued staring at one another. Against insurmountable odds, I kept my eyes from slipping down to his chest.

I blinked rapidly, allowing the cogent side of my brain to finally slip back in the driver’s seat. I needed to leave before I did something incredibly foolish like confessing to what I knew were unrequited feelings.

“Hadley,” he said just as I reached the door. I turned to look at him.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean it.” His tone was full of sincerity. “You look beautiful tonight. You always do.”

I let the compliment wash over me, feeling my heart constrict at his words. I wanted to walk over and throw my arms around him, but something was nagging at me that I couldn’t keep to myself. The words sat on my tongue, desperate to get out.

“I danced with Merrick tonight.” I wanted to slap my hand over my mouth for letting the words escape.