Page 14 of Kiss Marry Kill
“You have four days. How many things do you still have to do?”
“All of it.” He laughed and shrugged, unfazed and unstressed. “A buddy of mine is having a farewell barbeque for me tonight, wanna come?”
“I’m still dealing with lunch.” She brought her glass up and took a big slurp through her straw. And if you have a bunch of things to do on your list, should you be going to a party?”
“It’ll get done.”
“When?”
“The anxiety you have on my behalf is palpable.” He chuckled, finally opening his can of soda and pouring himself a drink. He’d been listening, giving her his full attention—no fidgeting, no interruptions, looking her straight in the eye. He was totally and completely sure of himself, not needing to fill the void with inane conversation or move around distractedly. He asked questions he wanted to know answers to, and listened carefully, asking more questions when more questions needed to be asked.
“Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do for today.”
He quickly came back with, “Carpe Diem.”
“Don’t out-quote me, Irons.” She narrowed her eyes, but she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.
“So? Barbeque tonight?” he asked again just as the waitress brought them their steak sandwiches, made with soft toasted Cuban bread.
“I don’t know.” She hesitated. He was fun and charming and hot, but . . .
“Come on. You have four days ’til you start law school, after that it’ll be all work and no play.” He smiled—well, he never seemed to stop smiling, but this time she kept her eyes on his. And she noticed for the first time how the corners of his eyes crinkled. And was that a dimple? She hadn’t noticed before, either. Maybe because, even though his eyes never left hers, she would avert her eyes every time things got a little too serious, a little too flirty, or a little too deep.
Instead of answering, she took a big bite of her food and took an eternity chewing and not answering him. Mostly because she wasn’t sure what to say.
On one hand, spending more time with him seemed exciting and fun. A much needed diversion. On the other hand, she didn’t know him—and she had a boyfriend to deal with.
She was still chewing when he reached across the table, startling her, and wiped a crumb from her face with his thumb, cupping the side of her face in the process. It took all of her effort not to close her eyes and lean in to his big warm hand. An almost inaudible groan escaped his mouth and her heart started beating roughly against her chest.
And her decision was made. “You don’t even know me. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer hanging out with your friends before you leave?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m going to the party. If I bring you along that’s me hanging out with my new friend, too,” he said, finally grabbing his sandwich and taking a bite. “How old are you, Megan?”
“Twenty-two.”
“A twenty-two-year-old woman about to start school should have a wild last hurrah. The kind of hurrah she thinks about when she’s fifty years old, settled in a boring marriage with a dick named Dick and two point five kids. You need a memory that’ll make you blush when you’re old and everything’s sagging and you can’t find your teeth. And a twenty-three-year-old Marine about to deploy for his second tour overseas deserves the same thing, but with a twenty-two-year-old woman who has a greedy tongue and sweet lips made for kissing said Marine.”
Her face pinked again. “Seems like the Marine in question is avoiding his to-do list.”
“You seem more preoccupied with my to-do list than you are with the tongue and lips situation. And the tongue situation, Megan? That’s something that should be repeated . . . soon.” And he took another bite, and her eyes moved to his lips and to the way his tongue slipped out to catch some of the crumbs. “Come on, Megan. You look like you need some fun in your life.”
“And you look like you need some order in yours,” she replied. “How about we do five things on your to-do list and I’ll go to the barbeque with you.”
“Fuck yeah!”
“Wow, that was easy.”
“Of course it was.” He stuffed the last bite of food into his mouth. “You know what this means, right?”
“What?”
“We have to do five fun things for you while we do five boring things for me.”
“I don’t remember agreeing to that.”
“So you don’t want to do five fun things?”
Megan pushed her plate back, no longer hungry. She felt emboldened, and this time she leaned over and reached for the lock of hair by his eye and pushed it back, needing to see those sexy green eyes. “With you? Yes, I think I do,” she said, her voice a little thicker, a little lower, and her eyes never leaving his.
