Page 35 of The Non-Hook Up

But here he is, standing in the dessert section, holding a basket that's holding a lot of chicken.

I force a smile. “Hi, long time, no see.”

He goes in for a hug I'm hesitant about accepting but allow. He takes me in his arms and holds me too tight for a little too long. “It has. Where have you been?”

I wiggle my way out of his arms and take a subtle step back as I try to think of a way to answer that one. Well, my parents are dead. I had no job, no home, and no money, so that means I had to leave school, but don’t worry because I’m crashing with a friend I may have the hots for, and you know the best part? I’m also working with him in a bar!

Yeah, I didn’t see that going well for anyone.

So I just shrug, giving him a tight smile as I answer simply, “I’ve been working.”

“I haven’t seen you in class.”

I calm the shake I can feel building in my voice as I say, “I’m taking some time off. I just needed a break, you know.”

“So you have more free time, then?” I watch his eyes spark with an idea I don’t even want to get into at the moment. I inwardly pray for him to not ask me out, as I am in no mood.

“Um, no, I’m busy working,” I say, hoping he will get the hint, but his smile starts to grow, showing that he isn't understanding.

He takes a small step closer to me and if I wasn’t up against the fridges, I would have retreated further, but instead, I stand firm as he leans in a bit to whisper, “So you wanna hang out tonight? I got the place to myself, so we won’t be disturbed.”

I tense my jaw and clench my fists at my sides, willing myself not to punch him in the face at having to hear those words for the tenth time in the last six months. But before I can say anything, another voice silences me, and makes Luke’s eyes widen in surprise as he looks at something just beyond me. “You wanna explain to me why you’re hitting on my girlfriend?”

The words are not the thing that makes me practically swallow my tongue, but the fact that they are coming from Riley standing just beyond me. I feel a wall of heat evaporating from him and seeping into me as he casually throws a heavy arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his side and enveloping me in a cocoon of warmth I didn’t know I needed.

Luke’s eyes turn panicked as he takes a step back, processing Riley’s words. “Girlfriend?! I didn’t know-”

Luke stammers, quickly cut off by Riley’s hard and menacing tone that would easily make men shrink back in fear whereas it just causes tingles to dance over my body at the thought of what that voice might sound like in the bedroom. “Well, now you do, and I’m pretty protective of my girl.” He squeezes me against his side until all I feel is the hard muscle beneath his chest pressed against me. “So if I were you, I’d move away. Fast.”

Luke practically trips over his feet getting away from us, retreating to the back of the shop and dropping his basket in the process.I guess he doesn’t want his groceries, I think to myself a moment before I realise that I am still half flush against Riley’s warm, hard body.

My body goes stiff and feeling Riley’s eyes on me, I slowly force my eyes up to meet his and am met with nothing but heat.

I feel my cheeks get hot under Riley’s eyes as they move over my face, taking everything in, and I am made too aware of how easy it would be to lean in and kiss, to take advantage of this and give in to my urges, but what if this thing goes sour? I would lose my new home and possibly my job.

I cannot risk that. I need to learn to stand on my own before I can explore anything else.

I clear my throat, breaking the spell and forcing my legs to move away from him, providing the space I need to think. “Thanks.”

He swallows, shuffling his feet. “It looked like you needed help. Sorry for getting handsy.”

“I don’t mind,” I say too quickly and want to shove a sock in my mouth. “I don’t mean that I don’t mind, just that it’s okay because it got rid of him.” I feel my cheeks getting hotter. “You get what I mean.”

When I look up, I am met with an amused smirk as he regards me, shaking his head as he mumbles, “Can’t take you anywhere.”

CHAPTER 22

MIA

“So you have a night off and you’re staying in?” Ava laughs from the other side of the phone as I hold my phone between my ear and my shoulder, dressed in a pair of sweats and a hoodie with a bag of sour candies in my hand as I make my way from the kitchen to the living area.

“I’ve had a big week and there is no way I could go out tonight. A night in is definitely on the cards,” I say, flopping down on the couch and tucking my feet beneath me, relishing in having this space to myself.

Riley's working a half shift tonight and has only been gone for a couple of hours, and I have already made myself at home with a bag of candies on my lap and the Netflix account I'm currently scrolling through, when Ava asks, “So what else is on the cards?”

I purse my lips as I see a few titles I wouldn’t mind watching. “Well, it’s a choice betweenFifty ShadesorMagic Mike. I need me some hot guys to ogle at.” Because living with one isn’t hard enough, I think, but keep to myself as Ava scoffs.

“ObviouslyFifty Shades. You get hot sex and a hot guy.Magic Mikeis all tease.”

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