Page 26 of Bad Behavior

“It tastes like wine.”

He rolls his eyes a little. “Alright. I taste maybe… black cherry, cinnamon, black pepper… but overall it’s very fruity and full-bodied.”

I grin at him. “You sound very proper. A well-mannered young man.”

He chuckles. “There’s a first time for everything, I guess. And it’s a little weird to hear you refer to me as young man.”

I make an exasperated sound. “I’m not that much younger than you are.”

“Ten years,” he chides me.

“Almost ten years. We’re not that different, you know. It’s all in your head.” I take a sip of the wine to punctuate my statement.

He sets down his glass, turning serious.

“We couldn’t be more different if we tried.”

I cock my head. “Do you think so?”

“I do. First off, I basically dropped out of middle school, while you’re getting a degree after college.”

I give him a hard look. “You dropped out of high school.”

“Yeah, but it was in the beginning of the ninth grade year. Anyway, our growing up was… very different. You were always wrapped in bubble wrap, while the world just dragged me over the rocks, again and again.”

I couldn’t really disagree with that. “I can’t help being born rich any more than you could help being born… not rich.”

I blush a little. He frowns.

“Right. There are other reasons we don’t hang out, though. Like your big brother will beat me to a pulp if he finds out that we had dinner tonight, no joke. And I owe Asher, big time. I wouldn’t do anything to mess up our friendship.”

“I hate to break it to you, but I think Asher already thinks your friendship is wrecked.”

Jameson pulls a face. “Yeah, but I didn’t do anything to make that happen. That’s my point.”

“And yet, here you are, hanging out with me,” I say, sipping my wine. “Tasting the forbidden.”

He goes a little pink. I’m starting to love that I can make someone so much bigger than me uncomfortable. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

“Relax. I’m just teasing you again.”

He sighs. “The point’s the same. I’m like some wrong side of the tracks nobody, while you’re just… you’re like a princess who is locked away in her tower of books. You just look down on the rest of us, and pass judgement.”

He waves a hand. I feel indignant.

“I am not!” I say, smacking his shoulder. “That isn’t fair.”

“It doesn’t have to be fair,” he says, pinning me with his dark chocolate gaze. “It just is how it is.”

“What if I don’t like how it is?” I say. I lean closer to him. “What if I want to smash the paradigm? What if I want to rebel a little?”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah… I’m not really in the market for any rebels, just now.”

The waiter comes back, loaded down with a freshly made veggie pizza and a couple of plates. He sets them down on the table. “Can I get you anything else right now?”

Jameson looks at me, amused. “Do you have any water for our young rebel over here? She doesn’t like wine, apparently.”

I flush deep red. “I don’t need any. I’m fine.”

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