“I’ll drive,” I told her, not wanting to give her a chance to say otherwise.
“Or we could walk.”
It wasn’t as though I was in any position to argue, so I nodded in agreement. “Or we could walk,” I echoed.
I watched as she turned away, then pivoted back to look at me as though confused. Another smile tugged at her mouth, and she spun away again, this time going to one of the stations and grabbing her coat.
On her way back to the front, she turned to the other tattoo artist. “Gil, I’m going out. I’ll be back for my bike later.”
“Sure thing. See you at home?”
Home? I looked at Presley, then back at Gil. They lived together?
But…
If that was true, then that meant Presley … lived down the hall from me?
Presley Abrams was my neighbor?
No fucking way.
“Yeah,” she told Gil. “But no orgies tonight, cool?”
Gil’s smile widened as he looked up at Presley briefly.
He was the roommate who liked screamers?
Based on the giggling still going on in the corner, I got the feeling he’d found his next conquest.
When Presley approached, I allowed her to pass me and then followed. Reaching over her, I pushed open the door and followed her out onto the sidewalk. The street was quiet, although there were a few people out tonight. Nothing compared to how it would be tomorrow night, but we weren’t alone.
“Did you have a place in mind?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets to keep from reaching for her hand. For some strange reason, I wanted to hold her hand in mine, to feel the smoothness of her skin against my palm. Fuck, what I really wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and feel her heartbeat against me.
Somehow I refrained.
“Yep,” she confirmed, peering up at me, still looking somewhat cautious. “Just a few blocks down. You don’t mind walking, do you?”
At this point, I didn’t care if she wanted to walk twenty miles. Being with her… I hadn’t felt this good in a long damn time. “I’m good.”
“How’s the book coming along?” she asked as we strolled side by side up Fifth.
“I’ve taken up playing tic-tac-toe,” I admitted, peering down at her.
Her smile was sweet. “Maybe we should play together.”
If she didn’t stop that, I was going to have some major chafing going on because my dick was already stirring to life. I knew she hadn’t meant that the way it sounded, but seriously, my hand simply wasn’t doing it for me these days, and after the quick taste I’d had of her last night, I was definitely in the mood for more of her. And since I wouldn’t be able to be with another woman until I could get this one out of my system, I knew I would only get more painful as the night wore on.
Not that I wasn’t willing to suffer.
Just being around her was enough for me right now.
Chapter Thirty-One
Presley
The walk to the all-night ice cream parlor didn’t take long, but with every step, I was incredibly aware of Jake. His scent—something woodsy and masculine that made me want to bury my nose in his neck and breathe him in—drifted on the breeze, and I couldn’t help but inhale it. The sound of his breathing and the deep rumble of his voice… Needless to say, it was a good thing we didn’t have far to go.
When we reached the parlor, once again, Jake opened the door for me, allowing me to enter first. I led him through the restaurant toward a table in the back. The place was relatively busy, but there were plenty of seats available.
“You been here before?” I asked him when we slid into a booth, trying to pretend that this wasn’t incredibly awkward. Truth was, I’d never had a one-night stand before, and I would’ve never expected to have a follow-up date after one, either.
Jake shook his head, his eyes on me.
“What can I get you, hon?” the waitress asked when she approached, drawing my attention away from the sexy man sitting across from me. I peered up at her and smiled.
The menu was beneath the glass on the table, so I perused it momentarily. “I’ll take a rocky road milkshake with extra marshmallows.”
“Soy or regular?” she inquired.
“Soy.”
“And you, sugar?” the woman asked Jake.
“The same, but regular. Not soy.”
“Coming right up.”
“Thanks,” Jake told her as she hurried off. He turned those blue-green eyes on me. “Vegan?”
I nodded. “I’m actually allergic to dairy and eggs, and