Page 174 of Rock Me All Night
"Okay, okay. I was upset."
He only tickles me harder. "And you admit why."
"Oh, God, stop."
I'm laughing so hard my stomach is aching and my cheeks are sore. I kick at his legs. I claw at his arms. He grabs one of my hands and pushes it over my head.
"Okay!" I scream. "It's Nadeen." A laugh escapes my throat. "She asked me to move out."
Everything in Drew's mood shifts. The happiness drains from his face. He's not having fun anymore. "Asked?"
I swallow hard. "I'll be okay. I'll find another place to live. It's not like Nadeen is a particularly good roommate." I shift toward the other edge of the bed. "I just have to find the time between class and my internship."
"Fuck that." He grabs my shoulder and turns me so we're face to face. "You're moving in with me."
"I can't."
"Why the hell not?" He doesn't wait for a response. "I'm getting a new place. You need a new place. It's perfect."
I play with the pockets of my jeans. "I don't want to impose."
"You don't."
"But you're so set to live alone."
He shifts toward me. His hand brushes against mine. "I'm set to live with someone who will respect my privacy." His eyes find mine. "I have absolute faith in you."
"Are you staying in LA that long?"
He nods. "It's home base now." His mood lightens. "It's a sweet deal. I'm on tour half the year but I pay my share of the rent every month. Place will be yours for three and a half months starting in April."
I nod. It would be a sweet deal with anyone but Drew.
Drew's hand closes around my right wrist. He looks me in the eyes. "Give me one good reason why not?"
How about the feeling coursing through my body, begging me to get back on that bed with him?
Drew doesn't see me that way. He's never going to see me that way. Being around him constantly...
It will drive me out of my damn mind.
"I have many reasons," I say.
He holds my stare. "So name one."
That's a bit more difficult.
Drew holds out his hand to shake. "We'll pick out a place together. Deal?"
Deal? I can't make a deal like this. Not if I want to live to graduate from college. Not if I want to keep breathing and sleeping and thinking.
I take a step backward. "Let me sleep on it."
"If you come to dinner with me."
"I have to study."
He slides his hand around my waist. "I'll throw you over my shoulder if I have to."
