He looked at the doors, then at me, then his mouth turned up a little at the corners and he shook his head.
“Just Jet, my ass,” he muttered.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothin’.”
I heard him. I wasn’t going to argue about that either. It wasn’t as if I got held at knifepoint and was in bar brawls every day but I wasn’t going to point that out. Not a lot of girls would go out of their way to defend how boring they real y were, especial y not to guys like Eddie. Anyway, I’d gone that route and I didn’t win that battle either.
He took his wal et out of his back pocket and held a card out to me, putting the wal et back in his pocket.
“You need a lift, you cal me,” he said.
I didn’t take the card.
“I’l be okay.”
“Jet.”
“Seriously. I’l be okay.”
Al of a sudden, he took three steps forward, backing me into the corner of the overhang that shielded the front doors.
My back hit the wal , I stopped and Eddie came in close.
I looked up at him to protest and kept my silence when I saw his eyes al pissed off glittery.
“Someone offers to do something nice for you, you take
‘em up on it.”
“I’l be okay,” I repeated, kinda angry myself then too.
“I think it’s pretty clear you won’t be okay. You’re workin’
two jobs; one of them isn’t safe. You don’t have time to sleep. You don’t have a car. You’re taking care of your Mom who isn’t well . Your Dad blows into town, cleans out your bank account and makes you the target of a thug. That’s not okay.”
“It’l get better,” I told him.
“When?”
“I don’t know but I have to believe that because if I don’t…”
Damn!
Tears started to fil my eyes; I bit my lip and turned my face away. Now was not the time to lose my cool. Not in front of Eddie.
“I have to go in,” I said and I did. I had to get away from him.
There was no getting away from him because his arms went around me and he drew me into his body.
I looked up at him, surprised, and saw his eyes had gone liquid.
My body tensed when it came into contact with his from our chests down our bel ies to our hips. Electricity shot through me, I tried to pul away, but one of his arms slid up my back, holding me in position while his head came down and he kissed me.
It was the worst kiss in the history of the world. I could not believe he was kissing me. Hot, handsome Eddie Chavez kissing me, plain, boring Henrietta Louise McAlister. It freaked me out; I went al stiff and this was not a good combination.
His head came up and he looked down at me.