Page 29 of Keeper
I felt like I could trust him.
But can I trust myself?
When Tanner offered me his arm, I took it. I took it because the club crowd had grown bigger and drunker and I wasnotgoing to risk getting left behind again.
I clung to his side as we pushed our way through the crowd.
“Stay close,” he shouted over the music.
“I will,” I said, pulling myself closer.
The scent of his cologne, like earthy oak and warm honey, stirred up the butterflies in my belly. I have to admit, I liked being on his arm. I almost felt like royalty, because the hottest guy in the club had chosenmeover every other single girl in the club. No, that wasn’treallywhat was going on between us, of course. But the countless girls who cast judgmental sneers and dirty stares my way didn’t know that.
Relax. It’s not what you girls think,I thought, tugging down the hem of my dress as it continued to ride up my thighs.I’m not like that.
… Even if I’d kinda like to be.
Tanner held the door open for me and we stepped outside. The bouncer shouted after us as we walked off. “Have a great night, Tanner!”
He gave a wave of his hand. “Goodnight.”
“Ooh, the door guy knows you by name!” I quietly teased him. “You must come here a lot.”
“Every now and then. The boys love it there.”
“And who are the boys?”
“The guys I work with,” he said as he pulled his car keys from his pocket.
He pressed a button and one, among the sea of cars in the parking lot, chirped in response. We walked toward the car with the flashing lights. As we neared, I wasn’t atallsurprised to see that his ride was the super exotic sports car in matte black.
As we walked to Tanner’s car, I could feel his eyes on me, watching me. It was the same exact look he gave me when I saw his Rolex. I could tell he wanted me to be impressed.
This guy is loaded,I thought.And it’s driving him crazy that I’m not falling all over him because of it!
Tanner opened the passenger door for me. The doors opened upward—did that mean this car was a Lamborghini? I didn’t know much about cars, especially these ultra-expensive ones that guys like him dreamed about owning ever since they were young boys, but I at least knew that Lamborghinis had the slide-up doors.
“Thank you,” I said as I lowered myself into the stiff bucket seat.
Tanner shut the door for me and I looked around the comfortably cramped cabin. The car smelled new. The interior was so sleek and snug and space-agey, I felt like I was in a spaceship.
The cursive logo on the dash readLamborghini,telling me I’d guessed right. I ran my fingertips along the bright red stitching on the black leather dash. I wasn’t a car person, but I suddenly understood see why boys were attracted to this kind of thing—it made me feel sexy and powerful.
Tanner pulled up the driver’s side door and climbed in. He pressed the ignition button and the engine roared to life with an aggressive snarl.
He turned to me and smiled uncertainly. “What do you think?”
I think you are so freakin’ cute, Tanner.
But I fought off my smile and didn’t let my amusement show.
“It’s so sporty,” I said simply. “It kind of looks like a shoe, though. Doesn’t it?”
“Ashoe?” he repeated, certain he’d misheard me.
“Yeah—but aniceshoe—like a sexy slipper that an alien might wear. Or a robot. Can you see what I mean?”
“A sexy alien slipper?” He bristled, his ego slightly bruised. “The hell? How’d you come up withthat?”
