CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Danielle

“You’re assuming I can count to ten,” he challenged.

“Hey, you’re the one with the high IQ.” I giggled. “Ready?”

“Ready, baby.”

I glanced in the peephole, saw him standing outside, and bit my lip as I turned the locks and made a mad dash back to my bedroom. I closed the door and stepped into the bathroom. The way my apartment was set up was that there was a pocket door from my bedroom into the bathroom and a door from the hallway into the same bathroom. I locked the door that led to the hallway and then went about making myself presentable.

After washing my face, brushing my teeth, and pulling my hair into a simple ponytail, I pulled on fresh undies and a pair of yoga pants that I knew did great things for my butt. I donned a shelf cami and a T-shirt and then made my way to the kitchen.

Austin was rummaging through my fridge, but he’d laid the breakfast goodies on a paper bag and when I saw the logo, I clapped my hands. “Noah’s?”

He closed the fridge and faced me, letting out a quiet, “Fuck,” before rushing me. His mouth slammed onto mine and his tongue swept inside, making me hungry in a completely different way. I slid my hands up his chest and stroked his neck, letting the feeling of his body pressed against mine sink in. He broke the kiss and I grinned. “Well, good morning to you too.”

“God, baby, you’re gorgeous,” he rasped, kissing my neck. He kissed my lips one more time and then let me go. “I didn’t know how you liked your coffee, so I just grabbed black.”

“Three sugars and lots of cream,” I said.

“Good thing I brought lots of cream, then.” He held up little containers of half-and-half.

“What about you?

He smiled. “Just black, babe.”

“You’re easy.”

He chuckled and grabbed the plain bagel. “Depends on who you ask.”

I grinned.

“You still have nothing in your fridge,” he pointed out.

“I know. You’ve been a bad influence and distraction. I really need to go shopping.” I grabbed the sugar from the cabinet above the dishwasher and spooned some into my cup.

Austin handed me a bagel.

“I thought you wanted the poppy seed,” I said as Austin spread cream cheese on the plain one.

He shook his head. “It’s all you, babe.”

“You’re pulling out all the charm today, aren’t you?”

He leaned down to kiss me quickly. “Not just today. You’ll see.”

“Promises, promises.” I followed him to the table. “What are you doing here? I thought we weren’t seeing each other today.”

“I moved a few things around so I could drive you and your friend tonight.”

“What?”

“I’m your shuttle service,” he said. “Wherever you need to go, I’ll take you.”

“I don’t need you to drive me,” I pointed out. “I have a car that runs better than ever, thanks to you.”

He took a sip of his coffee. “Yeah, but if I take you, you can drink whatever you want and not worry about driving.”

“There is that.” I raised an eyebrow. “We might be really late, though. We typically are.”

Austin smiled. “What time do you want me to pick you up?”

“I haven’t worked that out yet. Kim knows not to call me before eleven. Even if she were dying, she’d have to wait until after then to let me know.”

He shot me a sexy little smirk. “I’m not apologizing for wakin’ you, babe. It made my day.”

I lifted my bagel. “I’ll take this as one even so.”

“Knock yourself out.”

“You really want to drive us tonight?”

He nodded.

“You’re sure you’re not busy?” I asked.

“Nothin’ I can’t move, baby.”

I tilted my head and stared at him in suspicion. “What’s your game, mister?”

Austin laughed. “Just want to take care of my woman. Make sure she’s safe.”

I leaned forward and kissed him quickly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

We sat silently chewing for a few minutes before my phone pealed from the bedroom. I rose to my feet. “That might be Kim.” I rushed for my room and grabbed the phone just in time. “This is Dani.”

“Someone’s awake early,” Kim said. “I was expecting to leave a message.”

“Austin brought me breakfast.”

“Wow, you must really like this guy. No one wakes you on the weekend without feeling your wrath.”

I giggled. “I’m not that bad.”

“You keep telling yourself that, honey.”

“So what’s the plan for tonight?” I asked, and headed back to the dining area. Austin had moved to my sofa, his booted feet up on my coffee table, the remote in his hand.

“How about I pick you up at nine and we head to Blush?”

“Hoping if we get there a little earlier, we’ll be able to get in?”

Kim laughed. “That’s the plan.”

“I like it. Just one change.”

“What?”

“Austin wants to drive. So, how about we pick you up?”

“He’s crashing girls’ night?” she asked.

“Nope. He’s just designated driver. He’ll drop us wherever we want to go and pick us up when we’re done. It means we can drink and not worry about getting a cab.”

“But he’s not staying.”

I glanced at Austin. “Nope, he’s not staying. It’s just us.”

He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head.

“Sounds good to me,” Kim said.

“Awesome. We’ll see you at nine.”

“Perfect.”

I hung up and looked at Austin. “What?”

“What if I want to stay?”

I shook my head and grabbed my bagel, flopping down beside him on the couch. “Resist the urge. It’s girls’ night out and girls’ night out is sacred.”

“Where am I taking you?”

“Blush.”

“No.”

“What?”

“Sorry, let me rephrase,” he said. “Hell, no.”

I paused mid-chew. “You’re joking.”

“You’re not going to Blush, Dani. It’s a meat market.”

“It’s the most exclusive club in Portland and we’ve never been able to get in.”

“No mystery there, babe. They probably know who you are.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He scowled.

“Tell me,” I demanded.

“Damn it,” he said, but didn’t elaborate.

I set my bagel on the coffee table and turned to face him. “Austin, what aren’t you telling me?”

“Club business.”

“So, this is how it’s going to go every time you don’t want to tell me something? You’re going to hide behind ‘club business’?”

“Babe, I can’t tell you. You just have to pick somewhere else to go.”

“No. We want to go to Blush and since girls’ night out is sacred, you don’t get a say in it. If you want to drive us, you can take us where we want to go.”

“Blush is off the table, Dani.”

“Then we’ll get a cab.”

He studied me. “I’m driving you, babe, and you’re going somewhere other than Blush.”

I threw my hands up in frustration. “You are not the boss of me, Austin!”

His phone buzzed and he swore again, but answered it after he checked the caller ID. “Yo. Yeah. Fuck me. This shit needs to be dealt with, brother.” He rose to his feet and headed out my door just like he had the other night. Only, this time, I didn’t really want to let him back in. I took my minute of reprieve and called Kim.

“Wow, two calls before eleven,” she said. “I must be special.”

“Hey. Austin’s being all alpha male about Blush and won’t ‘allow’ me to go.”

“What the hell?”

“Yep. So, either we go early and blow him off, which I have a feeling won’t work, because he’s here and I don’t really know when he’s leaving.”

“Or…” Kim said.

“Or, he drops us off somewhere else and we either walk or cab it back to Blush.”

Kim chuckled. “You really want to play that game this early in your relationship?”

“Please, if he keeps going like this, there isn’t going to be a relationship.”

“Well, I’m up for whatever. I really do want to try for Blush, though.”

“Me too,” I said. “Okay, it’s sorted. I might call you later to fake make plans, you good with that?”

“I got your back, Dani. Always.”

“This is why I love you best,” I said.

“Okay, I’m going for a run. Love you.”

“Love you too.” I hung up, finished my bagel, and was downing my last gulp of coffee when Austin walked back in. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, but I didn’t believe him. He looked pissed. “But I have to go.”

“Okay. See ya.”

“Don’t be like that, Dani.” He frowned. “Just trust me on the Blush thing.”

“You got it, buddy,” I quipped, and stood.

He narrowed his eyes and gripped my chin, albeit gently. “Don’t go thinkin’ you’re gonna do anything stupid, Dani.”

“Oh, but you said I’m not stupid, so how could I possibly do anything stupid?”

“Do I need to put a recruit on you?”

“What does that even mean?”

“Have someone watch you.”

I gasped and pulled out of his grip. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would if I felt I needed to.”

“You know you just erased the experience of a sweet morning breakfast, with me regretting I let you in my house because you’re being the biggest dick on the planet.”

“When you see mine, babe, you’ll see how right you are.”

I snorted. “You’re disgusting.”