Page 74 of Cuffed (Everyday Heroes 1)
The corner of his lips curl as he shakes his head. “I’m glad you have this all figured out.”
“He chased you.”
Desi’s words come back and hit my ears as I stare at him and realize that he has the patience of a saint and she was right—he did chase me. He’s still chasing me.
So, why am I pushing him away again?
Because rules are rules. Now, I just need to stick to my guns.
“Look, I’m far from typical. Anything you might need to do out of obligation after sleeping with someone is not needed when it comes to me.”
“Like?” he asks as he folds his arms across his chest, leans a shoulder against the wall, and tucks his tongue in his cheek to fight from smiling.
“Like I don’t require the phone call afterward to make sure we’re both okay with the one-night stand thing. I don’t need flowers or apologies when you move on to the next woman. I don’t need empty promises or whatever else it is you guys do to soothe your egos. It’s all crap.”
“Every woman likes those things.”
“I’m not every woman.”
“So we’ve established.” He holds his hand up when I start to protest. “But no worries, I don’t do that. Just don’t tell my mom.”
“Good to know.”
“Is there a reason for so much hostility, Em? I’m sensing you’re mad at me, but if these are your rules, then how can you be?”
Silence falls in the small space as my tongue-tied thoughts spin and shift the conversation. “Look, we’re attracted to each other. There’s nothing wrong with that. We wanted out of each other’s systems. We screwed. We’re good.”
“So eloquent.” He lifts his eyebrows as his smile spreads.
“I’m serious. I barely have time to breathe most days, never mind have the time to deal with this kind of shit.”
“Wow. Way to knock a man’s ego—and dick—in the dirt.”
I growl in frustration when I realize how he took my comment. “We’re not talking about the sex part.” I backpedal. “That was top notch. It’s just . . . you’re Phony Maloney. And I’m Emmy Reeves . . . don’t you think we should let the past be the past and just be happy with knowing we turned out okay? With accepting our chemistry is great but that it will never work between us.”
“What wouldn’t work? The screwing part?” he asks, eyes narrowing as he mimics the way I said the word.
“Yes. That.”
“But we already did that part, and what were your words? Top notch? So, I believe that did work.” He knows he’s irritating me and is enjoying every second of doing it.
“What about this?” I motion to the space in between us. “Isn’t this weird?”
“It didn’t feel weird the other night. In fact, it felt pretty damn amazing, so lay your next excuse on me. Why can’t you pick up the phone and take my call, Emerson? I’m not buying whatever logic you’re trying to sell. And frankly you’re making absolutely zero sense, but please, continue. I’m enjoying this immensely.”
“You’re exhausting.” I sigh.
“And you’re infuriating, but we already knew that twenty years ago . . . so what’s your excuse going to be now, huh?”
“I don’t trust you.” I know my comment is a low blow before it even comes out of my mouth, but I can’t stop it any more than I can stop the sun from setting.
He staggers back as if I’ve physically assaulted him, and I can see hints of our past flicker through the anger sparking in his eyes.
Regret is immediate. How do I tell him not to think of the past when I just threw it in his face? I’m a goddamn mess. He doesn’t deserve this. He
has to know that much at least.
“You fooled me the other night,” I say with a smirk, trying to make amends for the lingering effects of my childhood grudge.
