Page 26 of Highest Bidder
Myles clears his throat. “I’m sorry.”
I stop breaking the chips and look up. Narrowing my eyes at him, I say, “That’s it?”
He sighs. “I stepped out of line. It wasn’t my place to talk about whatever you have with James. I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again.”
I shift my legs over the leather booth, scanning over all the colorful Hispanic decor around the room, unsure where to look. He’s watching me intently and seems to have no problem sitting in awkward silence, waiting for me to answer. I pause, taking in everything he said.
“You’re right. It wasn’t your place.” I cross my arms and lean back into the booth. “I thought we were getting to a better place, and then you went and did that.”
His shoulders drop as he looks down, folding his hands on the table. He looks sad, and it makes me regret how harsh my words were. “I know, Hunter. I’m sorry.” He rubs the back of his neck and looks at me with the most sincere expression, and for whatever reason, I want to believe him.
His eyes are full of shame and remorse, and looking into them for too long feels like looking at the sun. It’s too much, and I pinch the bridge of my nose, not prepared to have this conversation today. “Why? Why did you get weird about me going out with James, and why do younowwant to be friends?” I askbecause I can’t sweep it under the rug with a single apology. I need to know his reasoning.
He takes his hat off and rakes his fingers through his hair before putting his hat on backward. “Look, I’m not proud of what I did. I got jealous, which fucked with my head because you took my job.” Shaking his head, he revises, “They gave you the job I thought was supposed to be mine.” He inhales through his nose and readjusts himself to sit up straighter. I open my mouth, but he puts his finger up. I look at his chiseled jaw flex a few times, looking like he’s holding something in, or debating if he should let it out. “I know it wasn’t your fault, but I still blamed you for it.” Sighing, he rubs his hand up and down his face a few times before repositioning his hat. “It was always something. If I wasn’t pissed at you for the job, I was pissed at you for making me hard every time I’m around you.”
A chip falls from my hand on the way to my mouth. I can’t do anything but stare at him. Did I just dream it or did those words just come out of his filthy and suddenly sexy mouth that now I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from his full lips? They turn into a smirk, and I know I’ve been caught staring. My eyes flick up to meet his, and I furrow my eyebrows.
“What? You’re hot, Hunter. Don’t act like you don’t know it.” I continue to stare at him, unable to come up with a reply, and he holds up his hands. “I know, I was wrong.”
I blink at him.What? I'm pretty sure I misunderstood or missed something.The waitress shows up in perfect timing, and the spell he had me under feels like it’s broken, but my mind is still confused.Did he say what I think he said?
He just said he’s attracted to me. A memory of him leaning into me and his lips ghosting against my ear flashes through my head.
“Hello, what can I get you both to drink?” our waitress asks. Myles hasn’t taken his eyes off of me, and I squirm in my seat.
“Um”—I stutter and rub my forehead. “I’ll um, I’ll take”—Ilook around, not sure what to get, and I can’t seem to focus enough to decide while he’s staring at me.Crap.“Water.” I blurt. I still feel his eyes on me while I’m acting like a flailing fish. Why does this man make me nervous? I don’t know what to do when he’s nice to me. I’m not prepared for it. I look up and see a hint of a cocky smirk at the corner of his mouth, like he knows exactly what is going on in my head.
“Same,” Myles says after what feels like several minutes of silence.
“Alright, I’ll get those for you. Would you like a few more minutes to look over the menu?” she asks.
“Yes,” he says, calm and collected.
The waitress turns her body toward him and flicks her hair across her shoulder before smiling at him. But his eyes never leave mine, as if he’s afraid I’ll bolt if he takes them off me. I don’t know why though, I’m pretty much stuck here since he drove me.
“What would you like?” His voice sounds a little husky as he rubs the scruff on his chin.
I can hear the sound the friction makes, wanting nothing more than to feel it against my own hands and other places. My eyebrows shoot up, and I press my thighs together to help relieve some of the throbbing.
“Um, from you?” I couldn’t be more confused right now. He just said he’s attracted to me. Does that mean he wants to mend past wrongs and be friends, or maybe something more? My mind shouts to stay in the friend zone because this guy can turn on a dime, but my body screams in favor of the latter.
A playful smile crosses his lips. “To eat, Hershey.”
His deep voice pierces me to the core. I have a hard time not melting. I could kick myself for looking like a fool in front of him.Fucking hell.
“Oh, right.” Clearing my throat, I look down at my menu again. “Um. I’m not sure yet. Do you know what you want?” Isthis menu in English? I can’t seem to focus long enough to read one word. The Spanish names of each food aren’t helping. I’m surprised he can’t hear my heart pounding in my chest from across the table. I glance up at him, and he’s still looking right at me. His hands folded on the table, a picture of ease. I bite my lower lip. His eyes track the movement before they slowly raise to meet my eyes. He rubs his jaw like he’s thinking about what he wants to say.
“Yeah. I know what I want.” Myles’ eyes seem to darken, making my mouth go dry.
A hand reaches in front of me, holding water. I jump back, not noticing that the waitress had walked up.Thank god.I quickly send her a smile before I gulp down my drink. Water drips out of the corner of my mouth and runs down my neck. I pat myself dry with my napkin, and he chuffs out a laugh.The waitress has the best timing so far.
“Have you decided on your order?” she asks, taking out her pad of paper and pen.
I look at her with my eyebrows raised and mouth parted. I’m not sure what to get, and I’m the most basic food person there is. I get the same sort of thing whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant. Just don’t ask me what that is right now because I don’t have the slightest clue. This isn’t like me. I don’t lose my mind when I talk to people. What makes Myles so different? Is it that he just makes me nervous?
What’s going on in his head? He has been looking at me with a stormy look in his eyes all day. I can tell there’s something more he’s holding back, but he just sits there completely unphased.
“Um.” My eyes quickly scan the menu for anything remotely familiar. “I’ll take a burrito. Just chicken, rice, beans, and cheese please,” I say, looking up and relaxing a little when Myles finally looks at his menu.
