“This feels awkward.”
“It probably does, but men notice tits, and you’ve got an excellent set. Use them to your advantage.” He walks around assessing me. “There’s not much we can do with the uniform since Bill is so stuck on you wearing it, but we can figure out other ways to show off that hot body of yours.”
Surely there’s more to like about me other than that. “Jackson isn’t that shallow.”
Trip raises his eyebrow. “You’re talking about the same guy that left you to go after looser pieces of ass. Trust me, he’s a guy—we’re all shallow. Whatever you guys had before is over. We’re starting from scratch.”
I laugh. “At least you’re honest. It’s sort of refreshing.”
He shrugs his thick shoulders. “There’s no other way to be. Now, let’s work on flirting.”
I grin. “Oh, I can flirt, so we can skip that. I’ve already got that down.”
He fights back a smile. “Really?”
I throw my hands on my hips. “It worked on you at the club didn’t it?”
He steps in front of me and his eyes zero in on my chest. Both of his hands dart to my top button on my gray top and he releases it from its hole before moving on to the next one. “First of all, I was attracted to your banging body in that little black dress. It screamed, “Fuck me,” so that’s not flirting—that’s attention seeking. Believe me, I wasn’t the only one watching you shake your ass. I was just the only one brave enough to try and get with you even though you were there with another man.”
“You thought I was there with Max?” I ask even though it doesn’t surprise me. Max isn’t exactly the stereotypically homosexual male. There’s nothing feminine about him. People make the mistake that we’re an item all the time.
“Yep.”
“And you were what, going to steal me away from my date?”
Trip shrugs. “When I see something I want, I go after it. And that night I wanted you. That is until you let him drag you away from me. I figured it wasn’t worth the scene it would cause to kick his ass.”
I roll my eyes. “How do you know you wouldn’t have been the one on the receiving end of that ass-kicking? Max is a pretty strong dude.”
He gives me a pointed look. “If there’s one thing I know besides that I’m awesome in bed, is that I can fight.”
I sigh. “Okay, so you’re a badass—I get it. What’s the other reason you think I can’t flirt?”
He smiles. “I win the flirting debate because I believe it was me who came on to you first, so you can’t take credit for that.”
My brain attempts to wade through the drunken memories of a couple nights ago. “You may have started the dance, but I believe I’m the one who turned around to take it to that next level, allowing you to kiss me. Therefore I finished it. I get total credit for flirting with you first.”
He undoes the last button on my shirt. “No. Max dragged you away, effectively cutting us both off for the night. And Thank God for that. He deserves a fucking medal for performing a good deed. Can you imagine how awkward all this would be if we’d had crazy sex that night, only to meet up the very next day? That would’ve been a nightmare.”
I flinch. “Am I really that horrible that you would’ve regretted sleeping with me?”
Am I really that big of a bitch that people actually find me repulsive?
Trip tilts his head and slides his index finger under my chin. “You really have no clue how beautiful you are, do you?” When I shake my head, he takes a deep breath and then licks his lips. “Since you are oblivious as to what men see when they look at you I’m going to be blunt. I know myself well enough to know if I would’ve gotten a taste of that sweet little pussy of yours, I would have a full-on addiction. I could never maintain a purely professional relationship with you if that ever happens. I’ve tasted your lips, and that alone has me constantly thinking about you. I can’t even begin to image what being buried deep inside you would do to me.”
My eyes widen. No one has ever spoken to me like that before. It’s so dirty and primal, and…sexy. I ball my hands into tight fists at my side to keep them from reaching out to cling to him, but he’s right. Even if we find each other attractive, we can never act on it. It would ruin everything. His job, my family’s business, not to mention any chance I have of getting Jackson back—that would all be in danger. “You shouldn’t say things like that to people.”
Trip gazes into my eyes. “Why shouldn’t I? It’s the truth. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about that night. What it would’ve been like if Max hadn’t stopped us.”
Heat pools in my belly and all I can think about is tasting his mouth, and how much I want to do it again.
Gah! What in the hell am I thinking? I shouldn’t want that. I can’t want that. I want Jackson, right? He’s the guy I’m supposed to be with. Isn’t the guy you’ve known your entire life the safer bet? Max’s words about Trip being a tasty piece of danger ring in my mind. He is so right. Trip is dangerous, and tasty, and I do need to stay away from him. He makes me want things I shouldn’t with a guy I know isn’t going to be sticking around much longer.
Trip is a heartbreaker. I saw with my own eyes how easily he can move on to someone else. I know I get too attached when it comes to men. It might’ve been different if I never saw him again after a one-night stand, but now I know him, which only further confirms we can never be together.
As I stare into Trip’s eyes, I can see him struggling too. Even through all the outrageous flirting, I can tell he’s been trying to keep his distance and behave.
I take a step back and clear my throat, trying to rid us of the strange, sexual tension in the air. “Okay, what next?”
He shakes his head like he’s coming out of a daze. “Since you know flirting, let’s skip to the biggest flirt of them all. Give me your best fuck-eye.”
My lips pull into a tight line because I’m clueless as what he wants me to do. “My what?”
He folds his arms across his chest. “You know the look that says, “Hey, I wanna fuck your brains out.”
My lips twist and I start to make the most sensual face I can, but I can tell by the laugh he’s holding back that I look more like a dying duck than a sexy woman. “I suck at this. Let’s move on.”
Trip chuckles. “No. If you want a man to notice you, it’s important to nail the come hither look. It gives people the guts to approach if they know they won’t be rejected. Here, like this.”
He tips his head down and then lifts his chin, effectively giving me the smoldering look that the fictional, cartoon character gives in that one movie. I have to admit, it’s pretty damn good. There’s no doubt what that look means. It’s quite impressive he can turn it on so quickly.
“Trip…” I begin to tell him there’s no way I can do that.
“Shut up. I’m eye-fucking you. Don’t break my concentration,” he says without changing his expression.
I shake my head. “Well, not everyone is as good as you at that. We can’t all be sluts.”
The sexy look morphs into a concerned one. “Who said I was a slut?”
I roll my eyes. “Please. I saw how fast you rebounded from me at the club.”
One side of his mouth pulls down. “You caught that, huh?”
“Yeah, I did.”
He leans into me. “Just so you know, she was a lousy lay. I imagine you would’ve been a thousand times more fun.”
“Jeesh, thanks. That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“It would me. I’d be a happy man to know you like to think of me while getting pleasured.”
I shake my head. “You and that mouth.”
“What?” he laughs.
“Well, it’s dangerous. Max was right about you.”
“You and Max talk about me, huh?”
I shrug. “A little.”
“Girl talk?”
He eyes snap in my direction. “What do you mean by that?”
“Come on. It’s not like it’s a huge secret that he’s gay.”
I narrow my eyes. “It is around here. How did you know?”
