Faker - Sarah Smith Page 0,66
sit. Come on now.” The kids continue to yell while treating the tables and chairs like a jungle gym.
“We should just leave,” I say.
“And go where?”
An earsplitting scream invades my eardrums. Two kids are warring over the same chair.
“To the Dumpster, into a sewer, I don’t care. Anywhere but here.”
He packs up our leftovers, we leave cash on the table, and we bolt out the door.
“Dear God,” I say while rubbing my ears. “The best birth control you could ever ask for is in that restaurant.”
Tate lets out a proper belly laugh. My heart stops for a split second. I could listen to him laugh forever.
“Wow. And you had the nerve to lecture me in there?”
“I didn’t drop the f-word in front of a bunch of kindergarteners. I get points for that.”
“So what now?” he says after chuckling.
I think about repeating my question about Jamie’s call, but I lose my nerve. He’s opened up plenty to me this dinner. I feel good about where we are in this moment.
I gaze across the parking lot to the street. “It’s dark. I should probably head home. I’ve got a bit of a walk.” The moment I say it, I realize that I don’t yet want to leave him. I don’t know how to say it and not sound like a desperate weirdo, though.
“Let me drive you.” Tate points to his car.
“Remember the first time we were in your car?” I let out an exasperated laugh. “I’m supposed to be resting and recovering, right?”
We let the intensity of our first kiss in his car shuffle in the air between us. The instant I mention it, I’m reminded of his soft tongue and lips, the way he moaned against my mouth.
Even in the darkness, I can see the faintest hue of pink on his cheeks. “I promise to keep myself under control if you do.”
I slide in the passenger seat. He starts the car and blasts the AC. When I buckle my seat belt, I wait for him to pull out of the parking lot, but he doesn’t move.
“Do you honestly want to know why I didn’t tell you about Jamie’s call?” His eyes fix ahead.
I nod.
He shoves both hands in his hair, pulls, then lets go. “I was afraid that if I told you he called, you would ask him to come take care of you and tell me to leave. I wanted to be the one there with you.”
He doesn’t look at me when he speaks. His admission sends a wave of all-consuming warmth through my body. The intimacy I was so curious about is right there in this admission. He trusts me enough to open up about a vulnerable moment. I grab his hand, hoping my touch reassures him.
“Tate, no. I’m grateful you were the one with me. You shouldn’t have been afraid to tell me he called. It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“You can honestly say that?” His eyes bore into me. “You can say in that moment, without question, you wouldn’t have wanted Jamie there instead?”
“I wanted you there and you only. No one else.” I squeeze his hand, hoping he believes me.
With a nod, his gaze falls to his lap. I wonder what he’ll say next, what he’ll do. Seconds pass and he doesn’t budge. The air in the car grows frosty. I rub the goose bumps on my arms.
“Sorry. I always crank the air. Bad habit.” He turns off his car and cracks the windows open, then refocuses on me.
It’s another long, aching second before he leans to me. Softly, he presses his mouth to mine, then pulls back. It’s only our third lip-to-lip kiss, and I immediately regret holding off for so long. One touch of his lips is the first hit of a mystery drug. All I want is more of him on me.
I laugh softly to myself. “Such a tease.”
“Excuse me?” he scoffs through a smile.
“You’re not leaving me with that sorry excuse for a kiss, are you?”
He grabs me by the chin, leading me in a full-blown, tongue-heavy kiss. A proper kiss. It’s our first kiss at Jimi D’s cranked up to eleven.
Twelve seconds in and the world around me is forgotten. The wetness of his mouth, the firmness of his tongue, the way he seals his lips against mine makes me forget everything that isn’t this kiss. It’s hungry, electrifying, soul shaking, and can convert even the most stubborn bodies, mine included.
His hands don’t let me off the hook either. One is thrust