his gaze narrowing on me for a brief second. "Let's not talk about the past, Lola. Not while I'm in such a good mood."
"Okay." I was better at pole work than tightrope. "What should we talk about?"
Chapter Fifteen
Leo
I didn't know what was different about tonight. Every damn time I saw her she pissed me off. Maybe it was getting rid of the painting, or maybe it was that I had two weeks to use her up however I wanted that let the anger settle. It helped that she didn't start with that famous line of dialogue, 'we need to talk'.
Sitting at the bar with her, drinking and finding common ground in our memories before she left, made me nostalgic. What we'd had… it had been goddamn fucking perfect. Not that it mattered. It was over now and the two weeks I'd promised her would end fast. I thumped cash onto the bar and caught Oz's eye, before taking her hand. "You want to get some food?"
Gazing at me with wide eyes, she bit her lip, and then with a nod jumped down from her stool. "Really?"
"This doesn't mean anything. I'm in a good enough mood right now to fulfil our little deal."
"Okay. I need to make a phone call." Searching out her phone, she wandered away from me to make the call.
What kind of grown ass woman had to call someone before they went to dinner? A knot settled in my gut, a bristle of anger flaring under my skin at the thought of her and that guy she'd been hanging around with at Drake's engagement party. Dropping her phone back in her bag, she came back to me.
"Let me make one thing clear if you want to keep this thing going. I will not share."
"It was my sister. You remember her, right?" She frowned and shifted her weight.
"Yeah." Why the hell had my head jumped to her fucking with someone else? Probably because I couldn't put anything past her. Because I want her all to myself. Pushing that notion down, I clenched and released my fists a couple of times as I followed her out of the bar, trying to compartmentalize the anger she seemed to draw from me so easily. For a few minutes there, we'd been… what? Our old selves? Two people without a chasm of lies between us?
"So where do you want to go? I haven't been out in Reverence."
My palm on the small of her back I ushered her down the street toward a little hole in the wall diner that served a mean burger and fries. "You eat meat, right?"
"Yeah." When she nodded her ponytail bounced, and I wrapped my fist around it to pull her against me and shove my tongue in her mouth. Fingers clenched in my shirt, she pressed against me, standing on tiptoe. Tongue against tongue, she gave as good as she got. How had something so right gone so very wrong?
I pushed her from me, both hands locked on her elbows. "I forgot you were a man eater."
Pain scuttled her face with a wince, and she turned and yanked away from me. "Maybe we should do this another time."
I blew out a breath and linked her arm through mine. "I've been angry for a long time, Lola. I can't just turn it off."
"I know, but—"
"But we made a deal. I promise, at least for tonight, I'll keep it in check."
***
She stumbled over the rise at the back door and giggled. "So this is your place?"
"Yeah." Clutching the whisky bottle, I took another swig, but it didn't stop her infectious chuckle from taking me back to when we were happy. Before she'd destroyed it all.
The nerve in my throat jumped. Swallowing, I pushed down on the flare of anger and the inevitable rockslide in my gut. Bringing her home might not have been the best decision, but she'd vetoed going back to hers, and unless I wanted to take her in the alley behind the diner, I'd had no choice.
Dragging a cigarette from the pack, I turned the CD player on and wandered out into the backyard to light up.
"Stars are bright tonight." Face turned up to the sky, she took in the luminescent lights.
"Not as bright as they were over the ocean." Now why the hell did I have to go and bring up the past?
"That was the best two weeks of my
"Okay." I was better at pole work than tightrope. "What should we talk about?"
Chapter Fifteen
Leo
I didn't know what was different about tonight. Every damn time I saw her she pissed me off. Maybe it was getting rid of the painting, or maybe it was that I had two weeks to use her up however I wanted that let the anger settle. It helped that she didn't start with that famous line of dialogue, 'we need to talk'.
Sitting at the bar with her, drinking and finding common ground in our memories before she left, made me nostalgic. What we'd had… it had been goddamn fucking perfect. Not that it mattered. It was over now and the two weeks I'd promised her would end fast. I thumped cash onto the bar and caught Oz's eye, before taking her hand. "You want to get some food?"
Gazing at me with wide eyes, she bit her lip, and then with a nod jumped down from her stool. "Really?"
"This doesn't mean anything. I'm in a good enough mood right now to fulfil our little deal."
"Okay. I need to make a phone call." Searching out her phone, she wandered away from me to make the call.
What kind of grown ass woman had to call someone before they went to dinner? A knot settled in my gut, a bristle of anger flaring under my skin at the thought of her and that guy she'd been hanging around with at Drake's engagement party. Dropping her phone back in her bag, she came back to me.
"Let me make one thing clear if you want to keep this thing going. I will not share."
"It was my sister. You remember her, right?" She frowned and shifted her weight.
"Yeah." Why the hell had my head jumped to her fucking with someone else? Probably because I couldn't put anything past her. Because I want her all to myself. Pushing that notion down, I clenched and released my fists a couple of times as I followed her out of the bar, trying to compartmentalize the anger she seemed to draw from me so easily. For a few minutes there, we'd been… what? Our old selves? Two people without a chasm of lies between us?
"So where do you want to go? I haven't been out in Reverence."
My palm on the small of her back I ushered her down the street toward a little hole in the wall diner that served a mean burger and fries. "You eat meat, right?"
"Yeah." When she nodded her ponytail bounced, and I wrapped my fist around it to pull her against me and shove my tongue in her mouth. Fingers clenched in my shirt, she pressed against me, standing on tiptoe. Tongue against tongue, she gave as good as she got. How had something so right gone so very wrong?
I pushed her from me, both hands locked on her elbows. "I forgot you were a man eater."
Pain scuttled her face with a wince, and she turned and yanked away from me. "Maybe we should do this another time."
I blew out a breath and linked her arm through mine. "I've been angry for a long time, Lola. I can't just turn it off."
"I know, but—"
"But we made a deal. I promise, at least for tonight, I'll keep it in check."
***
She stumbled over the rise at the back door and giggled. "So this is your place?"
"Yeah." Clutching the whisky bottle, I took another swig, but it didn't stop her infectious chuckle from taking me back to when we were happy. Before she'd destroyed it all.
The nerve in my throat jumped. Swallowing, I pushed down on the flare of anger and the inevitable rockslide in my gut. Bringing her home might not have been the best decision, but she'd vetoed going back to hers, and unless I wanted to take her in the alley behind the diner, I'd had no choice.
Dragging a cigarette from the pack, I turned the CD player on and wandered out into the backyard to light up.
"Stars are bright tonight." Face turned up to the sky, she took in the luminescent lights.
"Not as bright as they were over the ocean." Now why the hell did I have to go and bring up the past?
"That was the best two weeks of my
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