by Jami Wagner
Chapter Twelve
Ethan
Come on, come on. Stop talking already.
I watch in complete creeper fashion until the moment Mrs. Mulligan closes her front door. Then, I quickly head for Kelsey’s. If mornings together are all we have right now, then I am going to make damn sure I am at her house to make breakfast for her every day. I laid awake thinking about my situation a lot last night and I came to a conclusion. I won’t let anything happen to Sara’s bar, and my father isn’t going to hear a word of it because I’m not going to let him find out. I’m going to lie to him. Sara will keep the bar, I’ll end up with Kelsey, and my father will be off my back. It’s the perfect plan.
Kelsey spots me from the doorstep. That’s one smile I could get used to seeing every day. I take the porch steps two at a time.
“Hey you.”
“Hey yourself.” She quickly looks away as redness fills her cheeks. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and then gestures for me to come inside. Damn, she’s beautiful.
“I was thinking, if you have time today, I could cash in that rain check and we could hang out.”
Hang out, really? Was that my best line?
“Look Ethan, last night in the cooler was…well, I don’t know exactly. But you didn’t even try to talk to me the rest of the night—I actually think you were avoiding me, and I’m not the kind of girl who likes to play games. Either you like someone or you don’t. If you like them, you act like a normal human being around them. If you don’t like them, don’t lead them on.”
She crosses her arms, which pushes up her chest. The other day she had a wicked cute “I just woke up” look. Today, she’s completely ready in a pair of blue jean shorts, a pink tank top, and a plaid shirt. Her hair is curled and pulled to side and her soft brown eyes are the best part about her. When I look into them, that’s when I realize I’ve been caught staring. I do nothing to hide my pleased reaction.
Her hip pops to the side and she rests her hand on it.
“Really, Ethan? I just gave you the ‘no games’ speech and you chose that moment to check me out.” Kelsey rolls her eyes and starts to open the door. I grab her wrist and turn her to face me.
“No games. Not this time. I’m sorry. Give me one more chance and I won’t screw it up. Not this time. I promise.”
Taking in a deep breath, Kelsey’s gaze roams down and then back up my body. I’d be lying if I said those eyes didn’t make every inch of me crave her. When she pulls her bottom lip into her mouth and bites on it, it takes every ounce of self-control not to kiss her.
“We’ll take it slow.” She nods.
An ear-to-ear grin takes over my mouth, and I spin for the kitchen. My cooking always wins everyone over.
“But I have class today, in twenty minutes, so breakfast will have to wait for another day.”
I stop dead in my tracks and pull myself together before I turn around to let her see the disappointment on my face. Who takes classes at eight in the morning?
“Can I drive you?”
“I can drive myself, but thank you for offering.” She heads for the stairs.
I can’t let her get away this easily. There has to be something I can do to spend more time with her. Today. Not later. I don’t want to wait. If I’m actually going against all the rules my father set, either I’m all in, or I need to back out now.
“I think…I’ll drive you.”
Kelsey pauses and looks over her shoulder.
“And then I’ll pick you up for lunch. Maybe even give you a ride to work. We can tell everyone we decided to carpool.”
Her lips twitch as she holds back a smile. Finally, she hangs her head in defeat.
“Give me five minutes.”
