Maybe This Time (5 page)

“Enjoying
yourself?” I ask sweetly, laughing when he looks up sheepishly.

“You have nice
tits,” he says, shrugging.

“How
romantic,” I say dryly, crossing my arms over my chest.

“What? You
were blessed in that department.”

“Thanks… I
think,” I say, a flush working up my neck.

After twenty
minutes I’ve had enough, and Reid sighs.

“Twenty
minutes? That’s how much stamina you have?”

“Depends on
what I’m doing,” I say with a grin.

Reid shakes
his head, like he doesn’t know what to do with me. I have a few
ideas in mind I could share, if he’s interested.

“Come on, I’ll
teach you a few moves.” He gestures to the ring. I’m shocked when
he grips me by the hips from behind, helping me up. Just a simple
touch from him makes me shiver. I look down, not wanting him to see
how he affects me. If he can make me feel like that with just one
touch… Fuck.

He shows me a
few different self-defence moves, and how to throw a punch. My
heart races, and not just from the physical exertion.

“With all of
us around you’re gonna be safe, but I guess it’s good to know,
right?” Reid says after he takes a sip from his water bottle. I
stupidly didn’t think to bring one, so he offers me his.

“Thanks.” I
take the bottle from him, our hands touching briefly in the
exchange. I lift the bottle to my lips and drink, our eyes still
connected. I hand him back the bottle and sit down on the mat.

“How old are
you?” I ask him.

“Twenty-three.”

I nod, he
looks about that age. “Who’s older?” I ask him.

“I am,” he
says, then drinks more water. I thought he would be older, even if
it’s just by minutes. Something about the way he can be so serious,
whereas Ryan is carefree and easygoing.

“Thanks for
staying with me, and for not being a dick,” I say honestly, my eyes
riveted on the smile that curves his lips.

“I have my
moments.”

I can't help
smirking. “I’m glad.”

“You liking it
here?” he asks.

“I am.”

“Anyone asked
you out yet?”

“Nope.”

“Probably
don’t know what to do with such beauty,” he says softly.

I open my
mouth, and then snap it shut. “What?” I whisper.

He shakes his
head, as if clearing it. “You have to know how stunning you
are.”

I know I’m not
completely unfortunate looking. I’ve been called pretty, and been
noticed by men before. But no one has ever complimented me with
such passion and intensity.

“You confuse
me,” I reply, averting my gaze.

He laughs
humourlessly, sitting down next to me. “I can’t even explain it.
There’s something about you.”

We watch each
other in silence for a few moments.

Reid clears
his throat. “I should get you home.”

“Okay,” I say.
But we don’t move.

“Summer…” he
trails off, staring at my lips. I move a little closer to him, and
he moves the rest of the way so there is no space left between
us.

“Are you going
to kiss me?” I whisper, arrested in his blue gaze.

“I don’t think
that’s a good idea,” he whispers back, his eyes dropping to my
mouth.

“Good ideas
are overrated,” I say breathily. I lick my lips, and his breath
hitches.

He emits a low
curse before capturing my lips with his, his hands in my hair. He
licks at my mouth until I open for him, and then groans as he
tastes me. When he starts to suck on my bottom lip, I shudder with
pleasure. His hands move to my hips, but instead of pulling me
closer, he pushes me away. He stands, turning his back to me and
locking his fingers behind his neck. When he faces me again, his
expression is once again shuttered. I puff out a sigh, and stand
up, getting off the mat and walking towards the exit, picking up my
jacket and phone on the way. I know exactly what he's going to say
and I don’t want to hear it.

He catches up
to me and touches my elbow, steering me in the right direction. We
walk in silence to his Jeep, and he opens the door for me to get
in. Reid turns the music on, but it doesn’t dispel the tension
surrounding us. Rihanna comes on, and I sing the lyrics to her song
in my head as I stare out the window. My phone beeps with a text,
and I giggle when I read it. It’s from my friend back home about
her new boyfriend.

Talk about
TMI.

“Who’s that?”
Reid asks, being nosey.

“A friend,” I
reply, quickly texting her back saying that I really didn’t need to
know that.

“Who is he?”
he asks, his voice tight.

“How’s that
any of your business? Just cos you don’t want me doesn’t mean
others don’t,” I snap.

Reid curses,
opening his mouth as if to say something, but then he closes it and
stays quiet.

When we pull
up to my house, I’m desperate to leave his presence.

Being rejected
by him hurts.

“Do you have a
key?” he asks in his deep sexy voice.

I nod. “Thanks
for the ride,” I say as I jump out, and walk swiftly to the
house.

I don’t look
back, no matter how much I want to.

I hop off
Xander’s motorcycle, adrenaline still pumping through my body. I’ve
never ridden on a bike before, but wow, I'm definitely going to
want to do that again. I take off my helmet and hand it over to
Xander, along with his battered leather jacket and pull down at the
hem of my red top which has ridden up past my belly button. I
decided on this top with my favourite pair of skinny jeans, and my
black knee high boots.

“You sure you
don’t wanna keep the jacket on?” Xander asks, not for the first
time.

“You act like
an old man, you know that?”

“I just got my
sister, so I can’t help it if I wanna protect you.” He sticks his
hands in his pockets.

“I get that,
but I should be looking after you, baby bro,” I tease.

He looks me
over from head to toe. “You’re what 5’4? I’m 6’2, I don’t think
anyone’s gonna believe you’re older than me, Sum,” he says, looking
amused. “You're short and have a baby face.”

“I’m 5’5,” I
huff.

Xander just
laughs. “Besides, I don’t wanna get into a fight when some asshole
hits on you.”

“Hey, I have
needs, too,” I joke, laughing when I see the look on his face.

“I’m gonna
pretend you never said that,” he says, rubbing his temple as if to
erase the image.

“Well, if some
chick comes to hit on you, maybe I’m gonna feel a little protective
myself,” I tell him.

He groans.
“You mean you’re gonna be a cock block.”

“Depends. Are
you?” I ask, knowing I have him.

“We’ll see.”
He shakes his head at me. He seems so much older than this age.

We walk into
Reid’s bar, and I take a look around. It’s a smallish place, but
it’s packed out. There’s a bar, tables, a few booth seats and a
small dance floor. I can see Reid manning the bar, wearing a black
shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I quickly look
away, not wanting to think of him right now. Dash calls us over
when he sees us, sitting at a table with a cute looking redhead. He
whispers something in her ear, and she frowns, but gets up and
walks away.

“Hey, Dash,” I
say, taking a seat next to him.

“Don’t you
look gorgeous?” he says, his violet eyes gleaming in
appreciation.

“Thank you,” I
say, wiggling my eyes at Xander, who scowls.

“What?” Dash
asks, laughing.

I grin and
wink at him, but don’t reply. Xander gets us a round of drinks. I
have a vodka sunrise, my favourite.

“You want me
to ask the twins if they can give you a job?” Xander asks.

“No, I can ask
myself,” I say. I don't want my brother to have to talk for me.
After not being able to find any jobs around, I decided I was going
to have to suck up my pride and ask. I wait until the bar isn’t
busy and stand up, hoping to find Ryan.

There's no way
in hell that I’m gonna ask Reid.

Why the fuck
is she here? My eyes must be popping out of my head right now.
Summer just walked in, wearing a pair of jeans that I have to
wonder how she managed to get on. They're like second skin, and
riding so low on her hips I hope she doesn’t need to bend over for
anything. The thought of her bending over makes me instantly hard,
and I cringe, discreetly adjusting myself.

I know Xander
brought her here because this is a safe place for her, she can’t
get into any trouble with the amount of people that would protect
her in here, but still.

I can’t get
that kiss out of my mind. She tasted so good, smelt so good.

It was
perfect.

I’m not the
man for Summer Kane, that much is true.

I turn around
to get something out of the fridge, and when I turn back, there she
is, standing right in front of me. Her lips are a shiny red, and my
gaze can’t help but be drawn to them, remembering how soft they
were.

“Is Ryan
here?” she asks, twirling a ring on her index finger. Of course she
wants Ryan. She seems nervous, maybe she wants to ask him out after
what happened between us. The thought makes me grip onto the side
of the counter until my knuckles turn white. Why does it bother me
so much? I have no fucking idea.

“He’s back
there,” I tell her, gesturing to the office. “Go right in.”

Fuck, I’m a
bastard.

“Oh my god,” I
gasp in embarrassment, as I open the door to their office. Ryan is
here alright. He’s currently got a woman up against the wall. She's
fully naked, and he has his jeans around his ankles. The man has a
great ass, and it’s in full view for me to see.

“Fuck,” I hear
him grunt as he sees me. He opens his mouth to say something, but I
quickly turn around and leave before I can hear what he has to say.
I don’t look in Reid’s direction as I walk back to our table.

“Everything
okay?” Xander asks me.

“Fine,” I
huff.

“Then why are
you blushing?” he asks, lifting up his beer and taking a long
sip.

“Don’t make me
say it,” I groan. Xander and Dash both sit forward, obviously not
going to let this go.

“I went into
the office to talk to Ryan, and let’s just say, he’s… busy,” I say,
rushing the words out. My face feels like it’s on fire.

“Rookie
mistake, Sum, never go into that office,” he says, chuckling.

“I’ll
definitely remember that.” Lesson learnt. Why did Reid send me
there? He must have wanted to embarrass me, and he sure as hell
succeeded.

“Don’t be
embarrassed,” Dash drawls, pulling me in closer to him. I relax my
shoulders and try to forget what I just witnessed, which is hard to
do when Ryan walks over about twenty minutes later and sits next to
me.

“Like what you
saw?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows. He doesn't seem that
embarrassed, which makes it just a little more bearable.

“I think your
technique could improve,” I quip, smiling when everyone bursts into
laughter.

“Is that
right?” he drawls, smiling. He doesn’t even get offended, which
means he must be a stallion in bed.

“Definitely,
maybe you should practice some more,” I say, pursing my lips
together to try and keep a serious face.

“That’s a
great idea. You wanna dance?” he asks me. I shrug, why not? When I
stand he chuckles, and I can tell he thought I would turn him down.
I did just catch him screwing another woman, but I have no interest
in Ryan other than friendship.

“Look after
her,” Xander calls out, but I can see his attention is on a girl
sitting in the corner.

I walk to the
small, crowded dance floor, and Ryan pulls me closer, making a
grinding motion with his hips. When he adds in a thrusting move, I
burst out laughing.

“See, I can
practise right here on the dance floor,” he says, leaning closer so
I can hear him. He smells like cologne and sex, and I wrinkle my
nose at him. He smiles and puts his hands on my hips, as I swivel
them seductively. He doesn’t come too close, or move his hands
anywhere inappropriate. This is just us dancing as friends, and I
find myself having fun.

Ryan spins me
around, and we're both laughing by the end of the song. We're
walking back to the table when I see Reid staring daggers at me.
Then he turns, looking around the bar until his eyes come across a
stunning blonde. He waits until her eyes meet his, then tilts his
head slightly towards the office. She smiles seductively, and walks
towards the office, her hips shaking with each step. She opens the
office door and walks in, Reid following her, and closing the door
behind him. Ryan heads to the bar, taking over.

I swallow and
look away, taking my seat at the table. I skull the rest of my
drink, not even wanting to contemplate why I'm reacting the way I
am. Reid and I are nothing, not even friends. I don’t know how much
time passes, but I distract myself with talking to Dash, Ryan and
Xander, and having a few more drinks. The bar empties, so Ryan sits
with me at the table.

When someone
stands at the table, I can tell it’s him without even having to
look up. It’s like he has some sort of pull over me, some sort of
energy that attracts me.

I can feel
him, without even touching him.

Ryan laughs at
his brother. “'Bout time you got some action brother.”

I swallow
hard, still not looking up at Reid, waiting for him to leave.

Needing him to
leave.

But he still
stands there. I look at my brother instead, smiling shyly across
the room at the mysterious girl.

“Summer.”

Why can’t he
just leave? Now he wants to talk?

“Yeah?” I say,
reluctantly looking up at him. He looks angry, for some reason.
Like it was me that just screwed some random person in the office,
like we didn’t share that kiss.