for me. I was at a disadvantage, and when I ran to the parking lot, he was already in the car and peeling past me.
“HEY!” I yelled, raising my hands in the air.
He braked, a little too close for comfort, right next to me. The passenger window rolled down. “What?”
I reached for the door. “Let me in.”
His eyebrows pinched together. “Why?”
“Let me in.”
He unlocked the door.
I opened it and climbed in. “Okay. I’m with you.” I had no idea what I was doing.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m with you.” I clapped the dashboard, pointing ahead. “Whatever you’re going to do, I’m in. You seem to need a friend. You’re in luck. I could use one myself. So I’m in.”
“I’m going to get drunk and have sex.”
“Oh.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You still in?”
He was laughing now. He was still mad, but he was laughing.
For whatever reason—maybe I did want to go with him, or maybe I heard my own voice calling me boring and pathetic again—I sat back and folded my hands in my lap. “I’m in.”
He shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” He shifted his Land Rover into drive and started forward. “But that’s your problem, not mine.”
He careened out of the parking lot, and I fell against the door. I grabbed the oh shit handle above my head, and I had a feeling that was going to be the theme for the rest of the night: Oh, shit.
North River had close to 250,000 people, so when Caden drove to the opposite end of town, I started to worry whether he knew where he was going. I was concerned right up until he pulled into a Mexican bar and grill. Just like at the country club, he bypassed the front door and went around to the back. He clearly knew where he was going.
Rounding the building, he hopped over a small iron fence that surrounded a copper-bricked veranda. Yes, it looked so easy as he merely touched the top of the side wall and leaped over like a damned gazelle.
I, on the other hand, was a tortoise. I eyed the bottom of the fence, trying to find a place where I could crawl under, but there was nothing.
Suddenly two hands found my waist and picked me up. Caden had that look in his eyes again, the one where he was half laughing at me and half exasperated. I grabbed his arms as he lifted me over the fence and set me down in front of him. And his hands didn’t move. He held me in front of him, looking down, and my pulse sped up.
“You sure you want to do this?”
“Do what?” I tried to appear confident, so I could ignore the stampeding herd in my chest. “Get drunk? I can drink with the best of them.”
He closed his eyes a moment, shaking his head as he stepped back. His hands left my sides. I tried to pretend I didn’t miss them: the warmth of them, the slight weight of them, or how they’d made me feel safe for a split second.
Nope. None of that was going on.
“You’re going to meet people I really care about.”
“I’m down with caring people.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t fuck anything up.”
“What?” I touched my chest. “Me? What have I fucked up? It’s like you don’t know me.” I laced my fingers and pretended to crack my knuckles. “I’m ready for this. Let’s get the sexing and drinking started.”
He grabbed the back of his neck and continued to stare at me. “You can’t handle this.”
“I can too.”
I swung around. Eight tables were spread out across the veranda. Some matched the bronze-colored metal fence, while others were white picnic tables. A couple girls sat at the table at the far end, smoking, and one of the picnic tables was filled with large, muscular guys in sleeveless shirts, covered with dirt and grime, and also smoking. No one looked particularly friendly, and all were watching us. I stepped back instinctively, finding Caden.
His hands came to my waist again, and for a moment, I rested there. I was against his chest, and I felt safe again. I didn’t even mind the snake tattoo so close to me. I was starting to like that snake. I should name him.
A twinge of pain sliced through me.
I’d have to pull away from Caden, and the sooner the better, but I didn’t want to. I liked standing here as he held me. A lump formed in my throat. I liked