Page 25 of Hating the Book Boyfriend

Josephine: I'll see you at home.

I watch as she tucks her phone into her bag as if that's the end of it. I take a long drink of whiskey before getting off my stool. The movement puts me in her peripheral, and her eyes widen. As I approach her booth she exits it and heads straight for the bathrooms. When I round the corner, uncaring of a stupid sign on a door telling me I shouldn't enter, she's there with her arms crossed.

"Seriously. What is your problem?"

"You are," I say, stepping into her space.

She stands her ground and holds her hand out toward the door. "You're welcome to leave. No one is making you stay."

"I think we both know that's not the type of problem this is." I step in closer, eliminating the space between us, ensuring there's no question. Her pretty mouth pops open as her eyes slowly rise to mine, and my arm instinctively circles her waist as I back her against the wall. I can't take it. I have to know how soft those pretty pink lips are. My fingers brush over her jaw before my thumb finds her plump bottom lip. "So soft," I say before meeting her darkened gaze.

I lower my mouth, seeing her desire match my own, but then she says, "I thought you said you needed to think about it?"

"Is that what I said? I remember saying I wanted to kiss you."

"And when I asked what happened next, you didn't have an answer."

The subtle disappointment in her voice wrecks me. "Damn it, Posey, you put me on the spot. How could I answer that? You won't even let me kiss you."

Her eyebrows rise. "Are you saying you need to test the goods before you make a purchase?"

"Posey…" I warn.

"And that…” she pushes her finger into my chest. “You still tease me with that nickname."

Her hand comes up to pull mine away from her face, but I don't relent. Instead, I brush my thumb over her cheek. "I don't see that name the same way you do. I only let you believe it was a tease," I say as my hand falls away.

"Why?" Her forehead creases as her eyes search mine.

I step away and give her space. It's the last thing I want, but apparently, I still have walls to bring down before she'll consider me. "Do you remember the first time I ever called you Posey?"

Her lips pinch as she takes a trip down memory lane. "It was the day I broke out in a rash from the flowers I was picking."

"Yes, and when I sat beside you after bringing you a glass of water as you lay on the couch waiting for your mom to get off the phone with the doctor, I couldn't take my eyes off you. Your face was flushed, and you were covered in rosy spots. I thought you looked cute. Posies are bushels of flowers. You literally had the reaction from picking them and carrying them up from the fields. So I called you Josie Posey. My tone was soft, too soft, and Archer noticed. The warning glare he shot me made me turn the name into a taunt. But inside, it was never that."

"I remember now, your knee bumped mine, and you smiled…" she draws off, and I don't need a reminder of what happened next. I jumped off the couch and cleared my throat topoke fun at how she looked, and then I walked out of the room with Rhys while Archer hung back until his mom got off the phone.

I shove my hand through my hair. "I can't take that stuff back, Josephine, and I can't tell you about a future that doesn't exist, but I can give you this: I'm right where I want to be standing in front of the only girl I see."

She visibly pulls in a breath and nods. "Okay."

"Okay?" I repeat. "What does that mean?"

"It means okay. I need to get back to my table," she says as she starts toward the bar.

I grab her hand before she gets too far. "You're not really going back to that guy, are you? Posey, I know you feel something for me."

"Do I?" she questions, but the slight smirk that pulls at the corner of her mouth tells me she's poking the bear, so I poke right back.

I pull her flush against my front, catching her off guard, and her breath catches. "Tell me I'm not the reason for the hitch in your breath and flutter in your heart, and I'll let you go." Her eyes lock with mine, and I know she's as conflicted as I am. This is new, it feels wrong as much as it feels right, but sometimes being reckless is the only way to make anything happen. When she doesn't say anything, I lean down, letting my lips lightly graze her ear as I say, "Get your things. I'm taking you home."

"Okay,” she agrees breathlessly.

I've been driving for more than an hour. The farm was only a thirty-minute drive from town, but Josephine fell asleep in the silence that cloaked the truck as soon as we got in. I have no fucking clue where to start with her. All I know is from the second she fell into my life again, she's consumed my thoughts just like she did when we were kids, and I don't want to mess this up. I wanted to be alone with her again. Different from whenwe shared the hotel room when I was still determined to buy my own lies. I needed to sit with her and only her so I could see her through this new lens, one where I was no longer hiding behind the bully I had made myself into. That guy was setting a boundary, drawing a line in the sand so he didn't go after his best friend's sister. That new lens is why I'm driving Archer's truck in circles now, watching her sleep because somehow, even in her dream state, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and no words are needed to know that something has shifted. She left with me and fell asleep with me because she trusts me and I don't take that lightly.

I brush a stray hair off her forehead at the only stoplight in High Ridge. "I saw you first. I was never your enemy. I only played the part so that I could exist in your world. It was you then, and I think it's you now." I've barely finished whispering the words when my phone buzzes in the cup holder. Picking it up, I see it's Archer. "What's up, Arch?" I answer it on speakerphone.

"Where are you? Are you still in town? I haven't been able to get a hold of JoJo. Her phone keeps going to voicemail."

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