Page 13 of Crazy for You

She looked away. If he had something to say, he was just going to have to come out and say it. She’d already made a big enough fool of herself.

“About last night…” He gave her a pleading look.

She cocked her head, pressing her lips together.

He chuckled. “You aren’t going to help me out here, are you?”

She shook her head with a smile. “My mom always said I was the stubborn one.”

“That makes two of us.” He took a step closer. “Look, it’s not that I wouldn’t enjoy kissing you, but?—”

“Please, stop right there.” She cringed, pressing a hand over her eyes.

He peeled her hands away, holding them in his. He met her gaze, his eyes warm and rich as the earth around them. “I like you a lot, and that’s the problem. We’re friends, and I don’t want to mess that up, okay?”

She blew out a breath. What the hell could she say? “Look, I drank a lot of beer last night, and that motorcycle ride? Well, it was awesome, and I got a little carried away, but let’s just pretend that I hopped off your bike and went straight inside after, okay?”

He stared at her for a long moment, his expression so intense it was all she could do not to squirm. Then he cracked a smile. “’Kay.”

Relief loosened in her chest. “You’ll still teach me rock climbing, though, right?”

“Course.”

“And maybe take me to get a tattoo?”

He looked pained. “Em?—”

“If you won’t take me, I’ll have to go by myself, and I might choose a crappy place.” Which was so not true. She would research the hell out of it before she let anyone take a needle and ink to her body, but Mandy was right. It would be so much more fun if Ryan went with her.

Heat flickered in his eyes. “What is this all about?”

She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. “Look, last night started as a dare, but it turned out to be really fun—other than that one part we’ll never speak of again.”

“A dare?”

“I was complaining to my friends about how I’m tired of being so boring?—”

“Not a word I’d ever use to describe you, Em.” Something in his tone made her feel all warm and mushy.

“But I’ve always been the dependable one, right? I was the world’s most well-behaved teenager. It wasn’t a fun time for me.” Understatement of the century. She’d buried her whole family before she turned twenty. “But last night made me realize I’m ready for a change. So what do you say, will you help a girl out?”

He turned away. “I’m not that guy anymore. I can’t be responsible for corrupting you.”

Corrupting her? Was he serious? She kicked at a clump of weeds growing across the path. “God, Ryan. It’s not like I asked you for advice on how to become a stripper.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “Please promise me that you won’t.”

“Who should I go to on that one then? There was that one girl in high school who everyone said—” She broke off when she caught sight of the look of horror on his face and doubled over in laughter.

He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “You’re messing with me now.”

“What’s up with you today? You’re not usually this serious.” In fact, he wasn’t acting like himself at all, and if this was what it was going to be like between them now, all because she’d tried to kiss him last night…

“It’s not about last night,” he said as if he’d read her mind. “Let’s start with the rock-climbing lessons and take it from there.”

“Deal.” She stuck her hand out.

He took it, his big, warm hand enveloping her small, chilly one, and whoa, more sparks.

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