Page 19 of Devious Obsession
I snap my fingers. He’s the one Steele scared away.
“Sure,” I agree.
He sets his stuff down and drags the chair out across from me, dropping into it with a smile. “Chase King,” he introduces, extending his hand. “Aspen, right?”
“Yep. Monroe.” I take his hand and shake it, my cheeks heating. When’s the last time a guy shook my hand? “What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
He grins. “I saw a beautiful girl sitting by herself. Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Nope.” I set down my fork and lean forward. “Pretty sure that’s just judging a book by its cover, don’t you think? That was outlawed a few years back.”
He’s got blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The type of guy who girls like me aresupposedto fall for. The popular football player with the heart of gold, or whatever.
“I hate to break it to you, Aspen, but everybody still judges books by their covers. It’s simple marketing.” He braces his forearms on the table. “Butwhyare you sitting alone, is the question?”
“My roommate is at dance.”And I haven’t made any more friends.
He nods. “Yeah, mine decided to hit the gym after practice. Our coach was not pleased with their performance.”
“But he was with yours?”
“Of course.” He pauses and glances around. “This is a little off the cuff, but I was wondering if you’d want to get coffee with me tomorrow morning?”
I sit up straighter. “Why?”
“Because we had a conversation going at Erik’s party before O’Brien snatched you away.” His eyes darken. “And I was hoping to reignite that conversation…”
The blush that is probably taking over my whole face is hot. I swallow carefully, not sure how to respond. Did I have an okay time at the party before Steele showed up? Yes. Did the little card game with Steele make it better? Yes. Did Ilikethat Steele scared him away?Unfortunately, yes.
“You let Steele scare you off,” I reply instead. “What happens if he tries again?”
Chase shakes his head. “I was a dumbass. It won’t happen again.”
I extend my hand again. “Okay, deal.”
“Deal?”
“I’ll get coffee with you tomorrow as long as Steele doesn’tchaseyou off.”
“Puns,” he murmurs. He takes my hand again. This time, he doesn’t shake it. He just holds onto it and squeezes gently.
And it’s nothing like how Steele O’Brien would touch me. The exact opposite, if we’re being honest.
Why does that disappoint me?
4
STEELE
Ican’t stop thinking about her.
What she’s doing.
What she’s thinking.
What she’s wearing.
Her fucking glorious tits, her wide eyes—
