Page 57 of Nerd Girl

Maybe the fact that she hadn’t left.

This time when I reached for her, she didn’t move. I placed a finger under her chin and closed the distance between us. When I dipped my head near hers, her breath caught.

“You know who I am now,” I said.

“I’m not sure I do.”

Clever. “You do. Tell me you’re not tempted anyway.”

Evie bit her bottom lip.

“No response?” I prodded.

“I’m trying not to lie to you.” One corner of her mouth tugged up.

I brushed my lips over hers, and forced myself to pull away rather than diving in and deepening the kiss.

Her eyelids fluttered before she opened them again, and her lips stayed slightly parted.

“My room is across the street.” My voice was rougher than I meant it to be. “No commitment. No pressure. But a lot of fun and the world will cease to exist for a few hours.”

“That’s a big promise.”

“No. Just the right kind of escape from reality.”

The way Evie slipped her hand into mine was an impossible combination of bold and shy, and the action instantly made me hard. The walk to my room took an eternity and then some. Why did I feel like a teenager about to get laid for the first time?

It didn’t matter, because I was done thinking. The instant we were inside, I pinned her to the door, hand pressed to her throat, and claimed her mouth in a hungry kiss that devoured her groan.

She rested her palm on my chest, pushing me back until I hit the bed, and fell onto the mattress.

Evie straddled my legs, and I flipped us both, pinning her to the mattress with her hands above her head.

“See? Fun,” I said.

She smirked. “Very.”

I could taste the electricity around us, and it was impossible to ignore my own desperation.

Just the right kind of escape from reality.

I kissed her again, harder, and let myself fall into the moment.

I pulled back to look Evie in the eye, and the immediate future splashed in front of me.

If I did this with her tonight, it ruined my chances of buying.

Worse, it ruined my chances with her. She already thought so little of me…

I lost every other connection I’d made here too.

Did I care?

“I can’t do this.” Evie sighed.

I rolled onto my back. “Me neither.”

“Is this where you say this has never happened to you?”

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