Page 35 of Sweet Pea

“Yup,” I said, feeling awkwardness begin to creep in.

“So, I guess I’d better get going then,”

“Yeah, sure,” Sweet Pea said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you need a ride anywhere?”

“No, I drove here.”

“Oh, okay.” Sweet Pea shuffled his feet.

“I’m kind of starving so I’m gonna grab something to eat and head back to my apartment.”

“We have a full kitchen here. I could whip something up for you right now if you’d like.”

Of course, he can cook.

“No, that’s okay. I—”

“Or we could go someplace together.”

A short, involuntary laugh escaped before I could stop it.

“What?” Sweet Pea asked, innocently.

“What do you mean what?”

“You must be deadly during cross examination,” he said smiling wide, which was super fucking annoying as I found it impossible to remain in an agitated state while looking at his dimples.

“I appreciate the introduction to Cowboy, but this morning has otherwise been a total disaster. You invited me here and then had to be convinced by Clutch to let me through the gate.”

“Callie, I didn’t mean to—”

“Nope. You’re not going to charm your way out of this,” I snapped. “I don’t know what kind of women you’re used to dealing with, but I’m not the kind to be shoved in a closet while you run off and play cowboys and assholes with your friends.”

Sweet Pea’s smile widened, broken only when he leaned down and kissed me. A kiss that was not only unlike any that I’d received from him before, but unlike any kiss I’d ever experienced. One hand went to my face, his thumb gently stroking my cheek as he held me tight against him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, breaking our kiss. “I just wasn’t expecting you.”

“But last night you said—”

“I don’t mean today, Callie. I wasn’t expecting you in my life.” He stepped back and motioned around him. “As you can probably tell, I’m kind of a solitary guy. My life is simple. I do what the club needs, I work out, I watch a little SportsCenter, and when I need company, I find it.”

“You mean when you need to get laid, you know women that are happy to accommodate,” I said.

“If that’s the way you want to put it, sure. But my private life never bleeds into my club life. In fact, I’ve never brought a woman to my room before.”

“I can’t for the life of me see why not. It’s so... charming.”

“It’s a rathole and that’s the way I want it,” he said matter-of-factly. “In order to do what I do well, I need to stay on edge. If I get too comfortable, that edge gets dull. Plus, my life doesn’t easily lend itself to settling down.”

“So, because relationships aren’t easy for you, they’re off the table?” I asked.

Sweet Pea took a moment to process my question before responding. “It’s more like, the idea of a relationship has never been on my table before.” Sweet Pea took my hands in his. “I’m not being dramatic when I say my life is crazy.”

“I think I have a better understanding of your lifestyle than most,” I said.

“Last year my lifestyle, as you put it, surpassed crazy and graduated to utter chaos. Now, that chaos is about to be thrown into a blender, and I have no idea what things are gonna look like after that.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

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