Page 34 of Never You

Our fingers touch briefly, sending a tingly feeling right to my stomach, and I press my legs together again as I take the shot from his hands.

“You don’t know what you’re signing up for,hockey boy.”

“Maybe,” he replies, his voice low and gruff, “but I can’t wait to find out.”

***

I take it back;nowis when I’m feeling more relaxed than I have in a long time.

I’m tipsy and, I stopped counting shots a while ago, figuring Jensen was going to pass out pretty quickly, but the fucker has a better tolerance than I thought he’d have. I’d expected him to relax a bit more with each shot, but so far, the alcohol has only raised the tension between us and made his flirting appear more frequently, taking every chance he gets to touch me.

“I gotta ask, Rae.” Bodi stares at me with fuzzy eyes when I place my fourth empty cocktail glass back on the table. “Where the fuck did you learn to drink like that?”

“Yeah, not a talent I expected you to have,” Jensen pitches in as he brings another shot to his lips.

When the contents disappear, his face turns sour, eyes shut like he’s sucking on a lemon before he fixates them back at me. His brown hair seems to get messier every time he runs a hand through it, but it doesn’t make him less attractive.

In fact, the amount of alcohol now surging through my body makes it a challenge to keep my distance. To not trace the lines of his tattoos as I run my fingers over the skin of his arm or place my hand on his leg.

“What? You didn’t thinkMiss Poisedcould handle her liquor?” I playfully scowl at Jensen, bumping my knee against his.

“Oh, you don’t like that nickname?” I can feel him twirling a strand of my hair through his finger, the careless affection igniting a need to move closer to him.

I look at him intentionally. “It just shows how badly you know me.”

He purses his lips, straightening his shoulders as he inhales through his nose, nostrils flaring with irritation. His tongue darts out, and he moves his face a little closer.

“I guess that goes both ways,” he counters, a little offended.

Our gazes lock, both filled with a defiance that reminds me of all our bickering moments in the past. I’m hating and enjoying that we’re back to this part of our relationship, where I can see the desire in his light blue eyes.

He’s right.

I don’t really know him.

Determined to stand my ground, I let the alcohol give me the courage I need to hold his piercing gaze while the skin on my neck goes flush.

“Yeah, okay, guys.” My attention shifts when Bodi gets up from the booth, yet Jensen’s head stays in place, his gaze burning through me. “I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

I give him a smile and a short wave while he waits for his friend to acknowledge him. When he doesn’t, he rolls his eyes and winks at me. “Good luck.”

I watch him walk away, the hairs on my arms rising as Jensen’s fixation is still pointed at me. But I put on my big girl pants and suck in a breath, then turn my head with an innocent look.

“What is it, Jensen?” I muse.

“Give me a layer.”

“A layer?” I parrot, a bit puzzled and not sure what that means.

“Yeah, give me a layer.” He moves closer, then suddenly lets his head hang as he mutters some curse words. Shooting me an apologetic gaze, he pulls his phone out of his pocket for the tenth time.

He glares at the device, and I watch amused as he finally turns it off, throwing it on the table.

“Fuck the hell off!” He lets out a grunt, then puts his attention back on me with a smile, as if nothing happened.

“Give me a layer,” he repeats.

“Are we talking about clothes? Because hell no.” The screech that comes from my mouth covers up how I really wouldn’t mind taking off his clothes.

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