Tabitha was already heading out the front door when he caught up with her. “Hey, can I give you a ride home?”
It was so quiet outside compared to inside the club that his ears hummed. For a second he thought she hadn’t heard him, but then she turned slowly, warily. “Um, I’m okay, thanks. I’ll just take the subway.”
“Let me walk you.” Stop talking, man. Seriously, he was starting to sound like a stalker but there was nothing he could do about it. He wanted to get to know her. No, he needed to know her. There was a connection there between them unlike anything he’d ever felt before. An understanding, a clicking.
But apparently it was one sided because she was looking at him like he had just stepped off a spaceship. He thrust his hands into his pockets and gave her what he hoped was his most charming, least scary smile.
“Okay,” she said slowly, leading the way toward the F train. He fell into step beside her, ridiculously pleased that he bought himself a few more minutes with her.
“We’ve got another shift opening next week, if you’re up for it,” he said. God, he was already trying to figure out how to see her again. Be a man, and ask her out on a date.
“What night?” she asked.
“Thursday.”
He watched her brows draw together as she thought it over. “Yeah, that should work. I’ll be catering during the day but I can come to the club right after.”
He paused and she slowed down to see what was wrong. Nothing was wrong except that it physically hurt him to think that she was going to be working two jobs and crazy long hours just to make up for the fact that her douchebag boyfriend—ex-boyfriend, hopefully—had royally screwed her over.
“You okay?” she asked.
He spotted a pizza place diagonally across the street and had a lightbulb moment. “Fine, just hungry. You?”
“Starving,” she groaned.
He took her hand in his, trying gallantly to ignore the electric sparks that set off, and started crossing the street. “Come with me.”
“But, I don’t—” she started.
“My treat,” he cut in. When he glanced over and saw that she still looked like she was going to argue, he hurried on. “Come on, we’re both hungry. It won’t take long. Your stomach will thank me later.”
That earned him a small smile, but it felt like he’d won an Olympic medal. Declaring it a victory, he hurried her inside the pizza place and ordered their slices while she found them a free booth.
Slices in hand, he found himself the recipient of another gold-medal smile that had him floating across the floor like a freakin’ ballerina. What was it with her? Where did this magical reaction come from?
Probably because she was so different from his ex. Hard working, straightforward, honest, kind, sweet, genuine—all words no one would ever associate with his last long-term girlfriend, Melissa. She was spoiled, entitled, manipulative—
Tabitha’s moan of happiness as she chewed her first bit cut off his internal rampage. Now was not the time to be obsessing over Melissa and her betrayal. Tabitha was nothing like her.
So then, why the lies, asshole?
But he couldn’t go there. Not yet. There was plenty of time to come clean. First, he had to get her to like him. Or at least get her to let down some of that guard. If he could just get her to like him for him, then he would tell her everything.
“Can I take you out sometime?” The words slipped out. Sure he’d been thinking them all night, but he’d hoped to have charmed her by now. He’d imagined a fun flirtation followed by a date request. But this night had not gone as planned and now he found himself awkwardly asking out his dream girl over pizza at two am.
And the worst part? She looked horrified. She stopped chewing, her eyes growing wide with surprise and something far stronger than wariness. Terror, maybe. He had a horrible feeling she was going to drop her slice and flee.
“I can’t,” she said finally.
Then they both sat there in awkward silence as he tried to keep something close to a normal expression on his face and not scare her away further by letting on how much the quick dismissal hurt.
He nodded and picked at his own pizza, mumbling something like “Yeah, no worries,” to break the silence and try to maintain some dignity. He would let it go. She’d made it clear all night that she wasn’t interested and yet he’d taken a leap anyway. He was an idiot but at least he knew he’d tried, right?
That was it, he would let it go. Say goodnight and not bother her anymore.
Instead he heard himself asking, “Why not?”
She blinked a few times as if trying to think of an answer.
“Is it because of Will?” He couldn’t hold back the disgust in his tone.
She shook her head quickly. “No. I mean, not really. Not directly.”
Oookay. “Well, that cleared everything up.”
Her lips twitched in amusement at his sarcastic drawl. Then she changed her answer completely. “I barely know you.”
He opened his mouth to refute that but shut it again quickly. Anything he said would be a lie. She didn’t really know him. His burning desire to help her with her money problems combined with his entirely selfish desire to spend more time with her culminated in an idea. A crazy idea. One that he really probably should have thought through before speaking but, as was the case since Tabitha had walked into his life, he opened his mouth anyway. His brain was no longer in charge.
“I have an idea on how you can get to know me.”
She raised her eyebrows as she took another bite. She smiled as she chewed, amusement making her hazel eyes sparkle despite the horrific fluorescent lighting. “How? By going on a date with you?”
He found himself grinning back like an idiot. Jesus, she’d turned him into a blithering idiot without even trying. What the hell would happen if she ever set out to flirt with him? He might self-combust. “No,” he said, brain still on hiatus. “Let me crash at your place for a couple of weeks.”
She blinked at him. Once. Twice. Then she visibly swallowed and took a sip of her soda. “I’m sorry?”
He leaned over with his elbows on the table. Now that the idea was out there, excitement gave him a rush of adrenaline. This could work. They could both get what they wanted.
“I need a place to stay. Just for a couple of weeks,” he added quickly when he saw her lips turn down in a frown.
“You,” she said slowly, “need a place to crash?”
He nodded hurrying on because guilt had his stomach churning, rejecting the last bit of pizza. But it wasn’t like he was totally lying. He had intended to have his apartment painted, and why not now when he could help her out? “It would only be for two weeks, but I could pay you for the full month in advance.”
Her lips pressed together and once again he couldn’t tell if she was about to laugh or yell. When she finally spoke, her voice quivered a bit and he knew she was trying not to laugh. “Let me get this straight. I say no to a date and you want to move in together?”
He let out a short laugh. When she put it that way, it sounded nuts. Without thinking he grabbed her hand across the table and that spark ignited instantly. “I just want the chance to get to know you.”
When she raised one brow in disbelief, he added, “I promise I’ll be good.” And then, because he couldn’t help himself, he lowered his voice and added, “Unless you don’t want me to.”
The rush of color to her cheeks was rewarding and his heart clenched painfully in response. She wasn’t as unaffected by him as she seemed, he knew it.
“I don’t know anything about you.” This was the second time she’d said that and it irritated him. Partly because it brought up the guilt he was trying to dodge, and partly because it wasn’t true. This couldn’t be one sided. Sure, she might not know all of the details of his life, but he was certain that she knew him in another away. She had to feel this connection, it was too strong to avoid.
“You already know where I work.” Kind of. He pushed that thought a
way. “What else do you want to know?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know…what’s your last name.”
“Stevens.” Sure, it was his mother’s maiden name but it was the name he’d been going by since he graduated high school. “What else?”
Her eyes narrowed in on him. “And you can pay in advance?”
He reached for his wallet. “I can give you the money tonight.”
She studied him in silence for a moment and he prepared himself for her next question—hopefully one he could answer without outright lying.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked. Her hazel eyes met his and he couldn’t look away if he wanted to. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
The wind rushed out of his lungs at the simple question that relayed so much. Anger and a streak of protectiveness he hadn’t known existed battled it out for supremacy. Why was it so hard to believe that someone would do something nice for her? She deserved to be treated well, didn’t she know that? She deserved a hell of a lot better than an asshole like Will, that was for sure.
But he swallowed down the intense reaction and forced himself to keep cool. He’d show her what she deserved. And maybe, just maybe, she would see that he wasn’t like Will. That he was worth giving a shot.
Except that he was a liar.
He shook his head slightly. He’d come clean eventually. Just not now. This anonymity, it was the fresh start he needed. It was refreshing and heartening to meet someone who had no idea who he was. Who could get to know him for who he really was.
Which is what, exactly? Jack Stevens, bartender?
But she was watching him, waiting for an answer. She was heartbreakingly serious in her question.
“Why am I being nice to you?” he repeated, unable to hide his incredulity. He let out his next breath with a short laugh. “I guess I have a hero complex.”
Amusement lit her eyes as she grinned at him, a sudden flash of light in the darkness. “Is that true?”
It never had been before—but she seemed to bring it out in him. He found himself wishing more than anything that this woman would always look at him the way she was looking at him right now. That smile made him feel like the king of the universe. He desperately wanted to make her happy. “For you, yes.”
She blushed again and her eyes fell for a moment as if embarrassed. She fiddled with the cup of soda in her hands and he could practically see the wheels spinning. He tried not to hold his breath as he waited for the verdict.
When she lifted her gaze to meet his, he let out his breath with a sigh of relief. Her eyes were soft, warm. She wasn’t going to reject him again. But when she spoke, she didn’t say yes right away. “Who’s your favorite superhero?”
Now it was his turn to blink at her in blank confusion. “Excuse me?”
She laughed and repeated the question.
He narrowed his eyes, enjoying the hell out of her laughter. “Is this some kind of test?”
“Not a test, just want to make sure you’re prepared. If you’re going to live with me for the next two weeks, you’re going to have to come to the Halloween party I’m hosting. It’s tradition. This year’s theme is superheroes.”
He found himself grinning like an idiot. “So that’s a yes?”
She laughed. “Only if you answer my question.”
He picked the first one who came to mind. “Batman.”
Her mouth scrunched up in a cute little pout as she seemed to consider that.
“I take it you disapprove?”
She shook her head. “No, he’s a classic. I just don’t think I’d want him coming to my rescue.” She leaned forward and for the first time all night her guard was down. She was talking to him the way he’d watched her talk to her friends—animatedly and with her eyes lit up with light and laughter. “I mean, can you imagine if you were being mugged and Batman just swooped down with that mask and that voice? I think I’d be more terrified of him than the mugger.”
He laughed. “Okay, so no dressing up as Batman then. When’s the party, this weekend?”
She shook her head. “Halloween falls in the middle of the week so I’m working Halloween parties this weekend and my friends and I are hosting one at my place the next weekend.”
“Sounds great.” He had absolutely lost his mind. Grinning like an idiot, he found himself staring into those eyes, hypnotized by the depth of emotions and the clear, kind joy he saw there. He could get used to staring into these eyes. It could be an addiction.
She was the first to look away and he noted the color that stained her cheeks. She felt it too, he knew she did. But he didn’t need her to admit it tonight. He would have two weeks to convince her that he was worth a shot.
“So we’re really doing this then?”
She hesitated and for one moment he feared she’d change her mind. But he watched her take a deep breath and give him a quick nod. “You can move in tomorrow.”
Chapter Three
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Katerina’s voice rang out in the kitchen as Tabitha worked. She had a Halloween party to cater that weekend on the Upper East Side and she needed to wow these clients. They were the elite of the elite and if they raved about her work to management, it would go a long way.
She paused in whipping a batter to give some thought to Katerina’s question. Did she know what she was doing? No. Not really. She’d woken up with a heavy dose of regret…and excitement. But she didn’t want to dwell on that too much because he was off limits.
“I think so,” she said in answer to her friend.
“That’s not exactly heartening.” She could just imagine Katerina on her grandmother’s couch in Queens, her nose scrunched up in concern as she overanalyzed the situation.
“I know it’s not ideal, but I need that money, Kat. I need to pay the landlord before I’m evicted and I can’t wait around to make that kind of money through catering and the waitressing gig. It just won’t be enough.”
“But you barely know this guy.”
Tabitha’s mind flashed back to the night before when she’d said nearly the same thing to Jack. Even as she’d said it, the words hadn’t felt right. True, she didn’t know him in the traditional sense. They hadn’t spent much time together, she didn’t know his family….but she’d met his gaze and had thought ‘That’s not true. I know you.’ Stupid as it sounded, she felt like she did know him. She trusted him. Her gut said he was a good guy.
But then again, her gut hadn’t exactly screamed bloody murder when she’d fallen head over heels for Will so maybe her gut was not to be trusted. But it wasn’t like she was dating the guy. Which was exactly what she told Katerina. “I’m not dating him, he’s just going to sleep in the spare bedroom for a couple of weeks.”
“Isn’t that how it started with Will? He just needed a place to crash for a little while….” Katerina’s voice trailed off but she didn’t need to say anymore. Tabitha bit her lip as she blindly stared at the food on her counter. Kat was right.
“Look, I know you need the money, but just be careful, okay?”
Tabitha nodded, then remembered her friend couldn’t see her. “I will. I promise.”
There was a heavy silence and Tabitha hurried to fill it. “Relax, Kat, I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s not all that dire. Elise owes me twenty-five dollars thanks to my unwavering attraction to bad boys.”
Katerina let out a short laugh. “Yeah, Elise told me about that. No offense, but I was really hoping Elise would win that bet. I liked Jack.”
You and me both. But she managed to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t need Katerina worrying about her getting into another horrible relationship. Besides, she was strong enough to resist Jack’s charm—even if he was wicked hot. And sexy. And funny. And sweet.
Oh crap. She threw down a spoon with too much force and let out a harsh sigh. “It’s just two weeks, Kat. I think I can manage to keep my hands off the guy for that long.”
“Okay,” Katerina sighed. “Just
as long as you know what you’re doing.”
“Umm, do you know what you’re doing?” Tabitha asked from the second bedroom doorway as she watched Jack position an amp next to a guitar.
Better question—do you know what you’re doing, Tabby? No, the answer was most definitely no.
He looked up from his project and grinned at her, sending an electric shock through her system. An insanely adorable dimple appeared on his right cheek. Sweet Jesus, he was fucking gorgeous.
She eyed the amp one more time. Annnd he’s a musician. Of course she was attracted to him—he was the walking definition of trouble. “So you’re in a band,” she said, reaffirming the obvious for her own benefit.
He looked up, shaking a lock of black hair out of his face. “Yeah.”
Band? Check. Too hot for his own good? Double check. Temporarily “between places to stay?” Checkity check.
Way to go, Tabby, you not only found the epitome of a bad boy—you invited him to move in.
She couldn’t stop the weary sigh as she slouched against the doorframe.
“Something wrong?” he asked, coming to stand. Crouched down he’d been attractive, but standing there in the tiny room—he was larger than life. Like a freakin’ rock god had come to crash.
Easy, girl. Get a grip.
“I’m fine,” she said, forcing a smile.
Fine. Great. Wonderful. Except for the fact that for the foreseeable future I won’t be comfortable in my own home. I’ll be intimidated, nervous, and worried about how I look. Because really, even if she had no intention at all of ever hooking up with this guy—it was impossible to be around someone so hot and not worry, just a little bit, that you’re not up to snuff.
Say goodbye to comfy PJs and makeupless mornings with a rat’s nest for hair. And mud masks and zit cream? Forget it. Those were on hold until Sexy Roommate moved on.
He took a step toward her. “So what do you normally do with your roommates?”
Um, fuck them? Tabitha’s eyes widened in shock at the unbidden thought. But…it was true. Ever since college, her roommates had been down-on-their-luck guys she was dating who’d needed a place to stay.
Sweet Tricks: A Love Bites Novella Page 3