he learned about me and found out I wasn’t someone worth keeping around?
“Don’t look so scared. You’re my sister,” he began before placing a hand on my shoulder. “I missed out on knowing you, too. But the truth is, she’s dead and you’re not. So let’s try and make new memories now. Trust me, and in turn I’ll trust you. If everything weren’t so new, I probably wouldn’t have jumped to such scary conclusions tonight. I think the more we get comfortable with one another, the better off we’ll be.”
I nodded. “Fair enough.”
Lance let out a sigh of relief, and once again I felt bad for worrying him needlessly. I’d make an effort to remember that someone actually gave a shit in the future. Decker still looked pissed, like he had unresolved anger regarding what happened brimming under the surface. If he had any opinions about my dad and his past, I’d have to set things straight.
“Good, good. How about I go get us some coffee? I know you have to be at work in a couple of hours and must be exhausted. What’s your favorite?”
I smiled. He really would be making an effort to know me. “The sweetest, most sugary concoction you can find. I’m talking two thousand calories a sip.”
Lance let out a tired laugh. “As you wish.”
“I’ll ride home with Blakely. I want to get some sleep,” Decker replied in a rush. Oh hell no. I was not about to sit in a tiny car with him. Not after what happened at the carnival and certainly not with his sour expression stuck somewhere between kissing and punishing me.
“Did y’all coordinate this ahead of time? Something tells me you want to make sure I actually go home.”
Lance bloomed a bright blush, and Decker gave an unforgiving scowl.
I opened my mouth to scold them both, but Lance interrupted me. “Perfect,” Lance replied with a clap of his hands, ignoring my question. “I’ll meet y’all at the loft.” Spinning on his heels, Lance headed toward his Land Rover but paused to give Decker a meaningful look that had my stomach plummeting. Did he know?
Decker nodded, which seemed to be enough for Lance because he smiled at me, then got in his car, which I’d just noticed was parked diagonally behind mine, blocking me in.
“Your idea?” I asked while nodding at the SUV.
“Get in the car, Blakely,” he growled. So that’s how he wanted to do things? Fine.
I got in Roxy and slammed the door shut. If I had automatic locks, I would have locked Decker out just to fuck with him, but alas, I didn’t. He shoved his giant frame into the compact passenger seat without a word as Lance drove off.
“You’re not going to leave because of what happened between us, right?” was the first thing that escaped his pursed lips, confusing me.
“That’s why you look like you have a stick shoved up your ass?” I asked while putting the key in the ignition and turning on my car. It took two tries but roared to life with a wheeze.
“Answer my question,” he gritted. Bossy bastard.
“No. I’m not leaving because we had a lackluster kiss on a deathtrap. It meant nothing, it means nothing. You can sleep with a guilt-free conscious, because you aren’t the first kiss I’ve ever had, and you won’t be the last.” I backed out of my parking spot and headed back to the loft, feeling like a lying liar pants because it was far from nothing. It was something. It was one of those kisses you’d be thinking about on your deathbed. A magical touch that had me wet and aching whenever I thought about it, but I sure as fuck wouldn’t be admitting that to Decker. What was the point? His loyalty was to my brother, and if I wanted to build a relationship with Lance and complete my school year in Memphis, I needed to play the role I was meant to play.
He let out a groan before thrusting his hands through his hair. “That’s how you want to play this?” he asked.
“I didn’t realize there was any other way. You obviously regret it. You care about Lance. It was nothing, Decker. Absolutely nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing, and you know it,” he whispered while leaning over the center console to brush his lips against my ear. His touch sent my body into a frenzy, making me worry that I would drive into oncoming traffic.
“What are you doing?” I gritted, breathing in his smell.