Page 53 of Trusting Tanner
Tanner shuddered with revulsion and stepped out of her reach. “Fat chance in hell of that happening.”Fuck this.He’d text Jules and tell her he was waiting outside. There was no way he was going to put himself in a position where she could jump to the wrong conclusions. Not when they were already on shaky ground. He turned to leave when he saw her walking down the hall toward him.
“Hey.” She smiled.
Goddamn she looked good. Jeans that hugged her hips, tight shirt that showed off her curves, curly hair bouncing around her shoulders with each step she took. His chest constricted. “I just got here,” he said.
She furrowed her brows. “Okay…” She drew out the word. “I need to grab a sweater and put on some shoes, then I’ll be ready to go.”
He swallowed hard, trying to brace himself for her reaction to seeing Rebecca. “I’ll, uh, wait out here for you.” He leaned against the wall, careful to keep his back to the open door.
“Fucking Christ!” Juliana said.
Tanner bit back a curse of his own. He tensed, waiting for her to march back into the hallway and give him a verbal beating.
“Yeah, you look real terrified.” Her words were laced with venom, and he tilted his head in confusion. What did she mean by that? “Put some damn clothes on.” A moment later, Juliana emerged and shut the door hard behind her. “Ready?”
He pushed off the wall. “Yeah.” Was it that easy? “Any idea where you want to go?”
“Nope. As long as it’s somewhere quiet where we can talk.”
His stomach dropped. He agreed they needed to talk, but since shit went down between them this morning, he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling their relationship was going to be short-lived. “Jason and Holly are at the apartment. We could grab some food and head to the park.”
She smiled up at him. “I could do without the food, but the park sounds good.”
He draped his arm around her shoulders and led her to his car, which was parked right in front of her res hall. He reached for the passenger’s door then stopped. “Before either of us start talking, there’s something I need to do.”
Taking her face into his hands, he lowered his head, brushing his lips over hers. Her lips parted instantly, her mouth as hungry as his, the friction of their tongues dueling ignited a firestorm in him. He moved forward, pinning her between him and his car, and deepened the kiss. Her hands tightened on his waist a second before snaking around to his back, and then she sighed. A perfect sound of content that rattled him unlike anything he thought possible. When he finally broke the kiss, his chest rose painfully.
“Wanna tell me why that felt like a good-bye kiss?” she whispered.
“Was it?” He raised a brow. “You tell me.”
“I don’t know. Areyouplanning to say good-bye?”
“Fuck no.” His tone was as ragged and harsh as his breathing. He’d take whatever she was willing to give and then shamelessly beg for more.
“Well, neither am I, so what the hell was that?” Defiance blazed in her eyes, like she was daring him to say what they both feared.
He pulled her to his chest, hugging her. “That was me being stupid and paranoid.”
“Could you give me some warning next time? I swear I just had a mini heart attack.”
He opened the car door for her. Now that he knew she wasn’t planning to send him packing, he could relax and focus on the serious conversation they needed to have instead of worrying about getting dumped. He drove the short distance to the park, and as soon as they were out of the car, he took her hand.
They followed one of the paved trails that weaved around the perimeter of the park, illuminated at night by solar-powered lights. “Can I ask you a question?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“Are you here with me right now because you want to be here or because Devon told you to give me a fighting chance?”
She stopped walking and stared at him. “You talked to Devon?”
Tanner nodded. “I ran into him after class, before I picked you up. He told me you’d talked to him about us.” A thrill raced up his spine.Us. That was too perfect not to fight for.
“I talk to Devon about a lot of things.” She started walking again. “And I suppose he’s part of the reason I’m here, but Iwantto be here with you, Tanner. I really do.”
Who was she trying to convince? He stopped, tugging on her hand until she was facing him. “It’s no secret I like you, Jules. A lot. And I want to get to know you. I want to take you out on dates and spend time with you. But I can’t do that if there are so many other people getting involved.”
“Are you suggesting I stop being friends with Devon?” Her eyes widened.
