Page 26 of Give Me Love

Heading up? I dart my eyes to the stairs.

Jace smiles at me. “Good seeing you again.”

“You, too.”

“Take it easy,” black suit says in a warning tone.

“You bet,” Jace throws back before the two walk off. I ponder about what’s up those stairs and why Jace and his brother here seem to be the only ones going up.

“So, where were we? Oh, you called me an asshole.”

My eyes shoot back to him, and I grin. “Well, if the

shoe fits.”

He mirrors me, gifting me a closed-lip smile, and his eyes dart down to my body for a split moment before he says, “How about you let me make it up to you?”

I tilt my head. “And how do you want to do that?”

His blues look from my mouth to my eyes. “Go somewhere with me.”

I laugh, uneasy. “Dude, I don’t even know you.”

“You want to though.” he says, making my smile widen.

Who is this guy?

My insides turn to mush and my heart swells.

Yeah, I want to.

I exhale and feel the look of skepticism on my face. “Ehh… I don’t think that’s very smart. I mean, what if you’re an undercover serial killer or something?”

He chuckles. “Not my thing.”

“Sir,” the bartender interrupts.

Black suit looks behind him.

“Your drinks.”

He takes them from the bartender, handing me Claire’s and mine before taking the two beers he got for himself and Jace who no longer needs it. I take a sip of mine.

“While you think over if I’m a serial killer or not, let’s go take these to your friends, yeah?” He lifts his chin toward them.

I give a hard nod and walk ahead, laughing to myself and thinking about his question. Should I do this? I mean, I’m a free woman. I’m not in a relationship. I can do whatever I want, so why not go with him? I look over at him. He doesn’t look like a serial killer.

And how do they look?

I don’t know…creepy?

We near the table where Austin and Claire are sitting, and Austin looks up. “Well, damn,” he says, standing. “Bryce, it’s good to see you.”

I see the surprise on black suit’s face, and everything makes sense.

The man on the stairs, that I never see anyone go up, except for Jace and the girl a minute ago.

How he got me a drink so quickly at the bar. My eyes roam. And how everyone seems to look at him differently, especially the waitresses who are now everywhere.

---