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Zach slides a hand under my hair, wrapping his fingers around the back of my neck. He leans into me, and I am sure he is about to kiss me. I hold my breath and my lips part in anticipation.
“I want to kiss you right now, so fucking much,” Zach speaks softly, and I can feel his breath over my face, making my eyelashes flutter. “But if I do, I’m scared that we won’t make it to my place. And you’ll think I’m just an asshole looking for a quickie in a back alley.”
“You’re not?” I ask for reassurance. My heart needs to know that I am not making a mistake.
His next words give me a glimpse into the type of person Zach wants to be with me, and also the person he possibly is in general.
“Not with you,” he whispers. “I don’t want to be like that with you.”
CHAPTER 3
Relax
Zach
I pack Hunter in my Jeep and haul out of the bar parking lot like my wheels are on fire. I have never felt attracted to anyone on such a visceral level before, and I am not sure what to do with it.
I can’t say that I’ve ever had a serious girlfriend before. Not for lack of trying, I suppose. But it just never felt right. And the girls I dated felt the same. We always parted on good terms, and sometimes even remained friends.
But I can already tell that what’s going on with Hunter is nothing like what I had with any one of my previous flings. She is different, as cliché as that sounds. I am not sure how just yet, but I can feel it in my bones that Hunter Montgomery is different.
“How far is your place?” Her voice sounds quiet and somewhat cautious. I wish I could say that I am offended by her distrust, but why should she trust me? She literally just met me.
“We’re ten minutes out,” I glance at her when I am stopped at the light. “Is pizza okay?”
“What do you mean?” Her face is adorable when she is confused. Her deep brown eyes seem to be looking straight into my soul when she stares at me like that, touching something in there that I was not aware needed attention.
“I did promise you that I’d feed you,” I keep my tone light, hoping that it’ll help her relax a bit. “I got no edible food there. I was out of town for a few days, haven’t had a chance to do any grocery shopping. I was gonna order us a pizza…”
“Pizza is perfect,” she rushes to say.
By now, I am about to pull into the parking lot of my apartment complex. I find my spot and put my Jeep into park.
“I love your car,” Hunter says after a few moments of complete silence. It is dark outside, but the parking lot is well lit. Between that and the soft light coming from the dashboard, her features are on display, giving her an ethereal feel.
“It’s an old car,” I chuckle and slap the steering wheel couple of times. “My dad helped me buy it when I was sixteen. I was going to sell it when I went off to college, but he insisted on keeping it. He kept it until I came back, then it felt wrong not to drive it,” I shrug in self-deprecation.
“I’ve always wanted a Jeep Wrangler. My dad didn’t think it was a good idea,” she gives me a sardonic smile.
“Yeah, they’re not known for their safety features,” I agree.
I take a deep breath in and stare out through the windshield. I am at a loss for words. This girl has me tied into knots, and we haven’t even had a first kiss yet.
A crazy thought dawns on me all of a sudden, and I am sick that I haven’t thought to ask this before I brought her home.
“How old are you?” My head turns abruptly to look at her. “And please, for the love of God, tell me you are over eighteen.”
“Ha, what if I’m not?” she starts laughing as she turns sideways and leans against the door.
“Hunter, fuck,” I rub the palms of my hands over my face.
“Relax, Zach,” she touches my shoulder and runs her hand up and down my arm couple of times. “I just turned twenty-two. I can legally drink and everything.”
I finally let out the breath I was holding in, which was threatening to strangulate my air pipes. I think I am done talking for now. Without another word, I pull the key out of the ignition, then click my seatbelt off and open the door.
“Don’t get out,” I snarl at her when I see she’s got her seatbelt off and her fingers are touching the handle of the door to pop it open.
By the time I walk around the Jeep and make my way to the passenger door, I can see her eyes getting big on her face that’s slightly panicked. I open the door and put a hand out to help her down.
