Summer Breeze Kisses - Addison Moore Page 0,116

Her crystalline blue eyes water on cue. “But I’m not hunting for him right now. After law school, when I catch my breath maybe, but, until then it’s you, me, and this God forsaken foxhole we’re stuck in until graduation.”

My phone buzzes in my hand. It’s a text from Rex. Downstairs.

“Sounds good to me.” I pull her in, and we share a quick embrace. “Stay sane. And if you need me, don’t hesitate to call! I have a hot date with my brother, and I don’t want to be late!” I laugh all the way down to his truck.

Rex sits with his elbow perched against the frame of his window. His lids are hooded; his dark hair is slicked back, glossy and thick, still damp from the shower, and my stomach clenches with heat. He’s donned a fitted black suit that has every girl in a mile radius craning her neck just to get a look. Holy hell. And that blue silk tie? Rex Toberman is dangerous tonight.

My heart begins to race, drumming hard and fast all the way up to my throat, and suddenly, the thought of holding his hand, touching him in any inappropriate way, kissing him makes me feel as if I’m about to faint.

We drive in silence all the long way to Jepson, making that thirty-minute drive feel like thirty years. Every now and again, I sneak a glance his way. I’ll admit, Rex Toberman is looking mighty fine in just about every way tonight, but there’s something about that suit that disintegrated me the second I saw it. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting him to go all-out in the fashion arena tonight, but when I asked my father if I could bring my new boyfriend to meet him for the very first time, he insisted only the finest, and predictably most formal restaurant in Jepson would do. I can just imagine the shock on his face when he sees me with his soon-to-be stepson—walking hand-in-hand no less! My father will drop right to the floor. His face will bleach out of all color, and both he and Lynette will need a stiff drink to recuperate. At least that’s my dream scenario. It could go far better than I imagine, and Lynette will simply drop dead. Although, I shrink in my seat a little, I feel like an ass getting any sort of glee at the thought of Rex’s mother biting the big one.

We pull into the parking lot, and every last cell in my body comes alive. My heart makes the leap from my throat to my ears, and my entire body pounds, sweating with a biting heat, shaking at the prospect of what’s to come. You’d think I were headed to the electric chair, and just knowing that a very public display of affection with Rex Toberman is about to commence, I’d say it’s about the equivalent.

Rex comes around, seemingly cool as cucumber. Of course, he’s cool as a cocky cucumber. He’s used to molesting the hell out of his dates on a nightly basis. Tonight isn’t merely an exercise in method acting. It’s perpetuating a serial habit. I try to recall the last time I ran my hands over the male form and come up empty. God, first base is about as far as I’ve ever gotten, and that letdown of a tongue twister was with Duncan. I’ve dated a few guys since, but those dates amounted to less than dinner and a movie.

My fingers shake as I reach for his, and instead, I flatten my sweaty palms over my thighs.

Crap!

My entire body gyrates with nerves, and right about now, I want nothing more than a toilet to sit on. Out of all the biological reactions Rex Toberman has induced in girls, I bet he’d be surprised to learn he’s actually summoned the power to loosen my bowels. Actually, my overactive nerves harnessed that power long ago. If I’m not mistaken, it correlates right around the time I made my first freeway blunder.

“We’ll go in holding hands,” I stammer. The early evening sun lands in my eyes, turning him briefly into a tangerine shadow.

“Sounds good, sweetheart.” For whatever reason, the sarcastic inflection in his voice puts me at ease. Rex takes up my hand and carefully interlaces our fingers, calm, cool, and irritatingly collected.

Why do I have to be a shivering bundle of nerves in this equation? Why can’t I be indifferent about the fact our flesh just experienced a Chernobyl-worthy meltdown upon impact?

That’s