Page 50 of Cherry Beats

“Screw you.”

“Your family that bad?”

There wasn’t an answer suitable, so I stared at him, unblinking as my mind raced through a catalogue of insults it could use to get me out of the situation, but I came up short.

“Wanna have sex again?” I ended up blurting out.

“God, you’re amazing,” he said, laughing, looking up at me with tears in his eyes.

“Is that a yes?”

“If we have any more sex, either my dick will fall off, or there’ll be an imprint of me inside of you for the rest of your life.”

“That shouldn’t sound as appealing as it does.”

“You know, when you try to evade something, it only makes me want to know about it even more.”

“What if there’s nothing to tell?”

He sighed, jerking his chin. “I’ll do you a deal. If you tell me about your family, I’ll let you leave. If you don’t, you’re going to have to stay with me for a little while longer.”

“That’s bribery. Blackmail. Both!”

“Yes, yes, and yes.” He smirked.

I narrowed my eyes on him and pushed my empty plate away. “You can’t make me stay.”

“Wanna bet?”

“What are you going to do? Tie me to your bedpost until you’re ready to leave for the bright lights of superstardom?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“One of us is going to have to leave at some point today, no matter what happens.”

His smug smile slipped, and his attention fell to my lips. “I know.”

“Why prolong the inevitable?”

“Because, for the first time in my life, shit isn’t going according to plan. You weren’t meant to make an impact. You were meant to be out of my system by now. My curiosity satisfied before I moved on to a new chapter. But just like always, Cherry, you waltz on into a situation wearing your tight leather trousers, and you surprise everyone involved. You surprise me, leaving me confused, frustrated, and a little damn lost. All my plans have been thrown out of the window, my expectations gone, too. I’ve never wanted to spend more time with a woman like this. I’ve never let them torture me with a night filled with Bryan Adams. I’ve never asked about someone’s family. I’ve never given a shit. I’ve never buttered a girl’s toast, or poured her fresh juice, even though I knew there’d be none left for me. No one has held my interest or made me laugh like you do. Fuck, I can’t remember the last time I laughed like I have in the last few hours of my life. I’m high as hell off of you, and quite honestly, I don’t know how to handle that feeling, so here I am, panicking, wanting you to stay until I figure out how the hell to let you go.”

I was staring at him in shock, my mouth opening and closing, not knowing what to say.

He grinned smugly before he leaned over the counter and took a hold of my hand, rubbing it between both of his. “Kinda poetic, right? That’s some Noah and Ally Notebook shit right there.”

“Noah who?”I began to fan my face, aware that my cheeks must have been turning a flaming shade of red.

“You okay?”

“Yep,” I croaked. “Emotion overload. Lack of sleep. Overwhelmed by the toast. Guilt that you gave me the last of your orange juice, and I just glugged it down without even asking if you were thirsty. You know, a part of me was really hoping you’d be a massive wanker once we’d slept together. But we had to get along, didn’t we?”

“I always knew we would.”

“And now it’s…”

“Bad timing.”

“Yeah.”

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