Four Letter Word (Love Logic #2) - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,78

still and not squirm under his intense scrutiny.

“No, but I’ve had more than one broken nose.”

“Really?” I look at his nose, noticing a little bump on the bridge for the first time and a certain off-centeredness to it. “Did you play football in high school?” He certainly has the build for it, I can totally picture him all sweaty in pads and tight football pants. My dick perks up at the image.

He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he drops his hands from my face. “Asshole father,” he responds, and my heart plummets.

“I’m sorry.” My dad may be pushy as hell and a little overbearing at times, but he’s never put his hands on me.

He gives a one shoulder shrug, fixing his smile back into place. “The past is the past. And the future is a long weekend at Comic Con,” he says with a wink. “You ready to go?”

“Let me grab my bags and I’m all set.”

He follows me down the hall to my bedroom, snagging my suitcase before I can pick it up, leaving me to grab my suit bag.

“Is that your costume?” he asks, eyeing the bag with curiosity.

“Yeah.”

“Can I see?”

Heat creeps over my cheeks. “Not yet.”

Riot chuckles. “Fine, it’ll be more fun to see it when you’re wearing it anyway.”

I give a sharp nod, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. I’m sure he’ll get a kick out of my costume.

I do a quick glance around on the way out the door to make sure I didn’t leave a light on or anything, and then I follow him out the door, locking it behind me.

It’s just over two hours to San Diego and we spend the first hour listening to a sci-fi podcast and laughing together. I roll down the window and feel the heat of the sun against my skin, leaning my head back and closing my eyes, enjoying the happy feeling sitting in my chest.

“I don’t want to pry, but are things good with Bishop?” Riot asks.

“They’re great. He’s been over a handful of times in the past two weeks, and it’s like it was before only better. I never saw how much we were both holding back before.”

“I’m really happy to hear that.”

“I owe it all to you. If you hadn’t shown up and shaken things up, I don’t know if either of us would’ve pulled our heads out of our asses to admit how we really felt.”

He glances over me with a soft smile. “I can’t claim that my motives were exactly pure or that I knew what I was stepping in the middle of the first time I took Bishop home with me, but I’m glad things are working out for all of us.”

“Me too,” I agree. My stomach swoops, and I remember his kiss with Leo. “So, um, are you dating Leo now?”

“We’ve been hanging out and getting to know each other,” he says.

I nod, not trusting myself to say anything as envy winds itself around my throat, spreading through my chest and making it hard to breathe. I’m not even sure who I’m jealous of—Riot, because he has a chance I’ll never have with Leo? Or Leo, because I’m still not sure if Riot shares my interest.

“So, listen,” he says, snapping me out of my jealousy spiral. “You might’ve realized this already, but I tend to prefer the direct approach to things.”

I clear my throat and jerk my head again. “Sure,” I agree.

“I’m interested in you. I didn’t want to get in the middle of things while you and Bishop had so much to work out, but now that you two are solid, I want you to know that if the interest is mutual, I’d love to explore that.”

My breath catches, and I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from shouting out with excitement. I can totally play it cool.

“Are you fucking kidding? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you for weeks. Of course I’m interested,” I gush, absolutely not playing it cool.

Riot takes one hand off the steering wheel, reaching over and putting it on my knee.

My insides all bubble and dance as I put my hand over his and let myself smile as I settle back and the deep voice of the podcaster fills the car again.

Riot

For the last hour of our drive to San Diego, every time I glance over at Hudson, I’m tempted to pull the car over and taste the sweet smile on his lips. I wish I’d been