Page 24 of Somewhere Only We Know
“Nothing!” he exclaimed too quickly, his slick exterior slipping away for half a second. And was it my imagination, or did his cheeks turn red?
I was relieved, but I couldn’t quite figure out if it was fromnothaving been despoiled, or if it was from knowing that if Ihadbeen despoiled, I would have wanted to remember it.
Either way, his blushing was cute.
He gathered his wits almost immediately. “I mean, I rescued you from getting arrested. That’s all.”
“Yourescuedme?” I scoffed.
He nodded. “Well, yeah. You were about to throw down with a huge bouncer.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I would never.”
“How drunk were you? Why were you out alone anyway?” he asked.
My huffiness returned. “That judginess in your voice right now? The least attractive thing, ever.”
“I’m more concerned about your well-being than how attractive I am to you.”
“Okay,” I said with a snort.
Jack grinned again. “Okay.”
It took a lot of willpower not to smile back at this guy. “Anyway, I wasn’tdrunk.”
He guffawed. “Okay.”
I realized that I had no other explanation I could give him.I wasn’t drunk. Only completely out of it from sleeping pills mixed with anxiety meds, which I need to take to fall asleep every night of my life.
Yeah.
“Whatever. I need to get back to my hotel, so… thanks for whatever it is I should thank you for,” I said, pulling on my slippers, hopping from one foot to the other. Jack reached out to steady me with one hand, quick and unthinking. His hand was firm on my elbow. I glared at him and yanked it away, almost toppling over in the process.
When my slippers were finally on, even though I knew I looked silly, I felt somewhat in control. Untouchable. Like how I usually felt.
It was time for my cool exit.
I turned and started to walk away, my steps brisk and deliberate. This kid Jack would remember the day he hadTHELucky sleep over at his place and—
“Fern!” he bellowed down the hall. “How are you getting back? You don’t have a wallet or your phone.”
I faltered but kept walking, feeling around in my pockets.No!I had a vision of my phone on my hotel nightstand. Right where I had left it before going to bed. And I never carried a wallet anymore, it wasn’t necessary.
“I’ve got my legs,” I shouted without looking back, reaching the elevator.
“Yeah, you do.”
I almost tripped. The nerve!
“Problem, though. We’re about ten miles out of the city.”
I whipped my head around. “WHAT!”
Jack grinned. “Let’s get breakfast.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JACK
