Page 16 of Play It Off

“I turn here,” I tell him, and he squints in the direction I point.

“I keep going.” He inclines his head to point across the street, just as I suspected.

“Well, thanks for walking with me.” I smile at him, ready to take off when he asks me a question.

“Want to see my apartment?”

Chapter SevenGavin

I am playing with fire. Temptation. Whatever you want to call it, I shouldn’t be inviting Sienna to my apartment. I live by myself, meaning we’ll be all alone, and that’s dangerous. The last time I was alone with Sienna, I basically mauled her and had my hands all over her juicy ass—and other places.

My gaze drops to said juicy ass, and I stare at it for a moment too long. Meaning she catches me, and when I look up, there’s a satisfied glow in her eyes that wasn’t there before.

She is feeling it too. That makes this even more dangerous.

“I’ll come check out your apartment, Gavin.” The moment the light turns green, she’s walking across the street, and I keep up with her, startled she agreed so easily. “Can’t lie—I’ve been curious about your domain.”

“My domain?”

“Your private space. You’ve always lived alone, you know. And you rarely invite anyone over.”

“I lived in the dorms my freshman year, and I had a roommate.” It’s required that all incoming freshmen are in the dorms their first year of school at UC Santa Mira.

“Oh, right. I wasn’t here then.” She smiles up at me, and if I was a more dramatic person, I’d clutch my chest and stagger backward because, damn, that’s a beautiful smile. “You’ve been living alone since I arrived in Santa Mira, and I never hear about anyone hanging out with you.”

“That’s not true.” I have the occasional girl over, but I always give them the boot before the sun starts rising. Not that I’ll mention that to Sienna. “Your brother comes over sometimes.”

“He does?” She’s surprised.

“And Nico. Some of the other guys.” It’s boring at my place because it’s just me. I use it for what it is—somewhere to eat, sleep, and shower. I don’t like being by myself for too long, and I’m rarely there.

“You’ve never invited me over.”

“Because you avoided me like I had a contagious disease.”

She laughs, tilting her head back, and her auburn hair catches the light. The temptation to sink my fingers into the silky strands and give them a tug is strong, but I restrain myself. “True. Don’t forget you avoided me too.”

“And look at us now. Spending time together.” I give in and reach out, tugging on the end of a strand of her hair. “We’re making progress.”

“I guess we are.” She dodges away from me like she wants me to stop, and maybe she does. Why do I lose all sense of boundaries when I’m around her?

We make small talk until we arrive at my apartment complex, and I lead her down the walkway toward my building. She takes everything in, her eyes wide. “This is really nice. Is it brand new?”

“They remodeled the entire complex a few years ago. I guess it was in bad shape. They opened back up my freshman year, and my father got in on the wait list.” He’s all about appearances, and he wanted his son to stay in the best apartment complex near campus. Considering most of the complexes are old and not in the best condition, he got lucky. Even though he grumbles over how much everything costs in this town.

The only reason they can command these sorts of prices is because of their location on the coast.

The old man loves to complain, even if he has more money than God.

She turns to face me fully. “Are you close with your father?”

I want to laugh. I want to blurt outFuck no, but that would be rude. Instead, I say, “Not really.”

And I leave it at that.

“Oh.” She waits, like I might say more, but when I remain silent, she falls into step beside me as I keep walking, heading for my building. It’s in the back, on the far right, and my patio butts up against the police station. Meaning it stays relatively quiet around here because no crime is happening that close to the cops.

I walk past her and go to the front door, opening it for her and letting her walk inside first. She stops in the middle of the living area and does a slow circle, taking everything in, which isn’t much.

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