He punched the buttons of the remote so fast I knew he
couldn't possibly be able to see more than a second or
two of each program before moving on.
'Because I'l tel you what, if you're going to give me an
attitude every time I come over here to fuck you, I'm not
going to bother anymore.' I stepped into my shoes. 'That
cake is baked.'
Now he looked at me. 'Huh?'
'That cake,' I said carefuly, 'is baked. Done. Over.
Finished.'
'Iced?' One corner of his lips turned up, but only a little.
He was maybe the only person who'd ever realy 'gotten'
me. It was why we fought so hard and fucked so good.
He knew every button to push.
'Yeah. Iced.'
He shrugged, looking back at the television, but his mouth
stil quirked. 'If you say so.'
'Austin.' I waited until he looked at me. 'Don't make me
'Austin.' I waited until he looked at me. 'Don't make me regret this, okay? You know what this is.'
He shrugged again, the brief glint of a smile fading. His
finger stabbed the remote as he cycled through al bazilion
cable stations. I thought about kissing him before I left. I
even took a few steps toward the bed, but when he turned
to look right at me, I stopped.
'I'l let myself out. No, no, don't bother getting out of bed,'
I said, though he hadn't done so much as shift. 'I'l do it.'
I was already out the door and into the hal and at the head
of the stairs when he caled after me.
'That's not al it is!'
I stopped, my hand on the newel post of his stairs. There
were half a dozen retorts, but none of them made it past
my tongue. At the bottom, the smooth banister shoved a
splinter into my palm and I muttered a curse as I plucked it
free. That would teach me, I thought as I let myself out of
his house and onto the street, where the cab was already
waiting.
Chapter 05
Daylight teased the sky by the time I made it home. I paid
the cabdriver and ignored the way he ogled my thighs
when I stepped onto the curb. I didn't want to be sorry I'd
gone to bed with Austin even though I'd said I wouldn't.
The sex had been too good, as good as it can be only with
someone who already knows you, but I'd started a new
life, with a new job and a new apartment, in a new city. I
wanted new habits, too, and Austin was definitely not one
of those.
I wanted a man who'd gone to colege. Who had a career,
not a job. One who owned a car and paid bils on time
and wore clothes that matched. A professional man, not
one who smoked and drank and cheated, or one who'd
