Moe Rivas has spent her whole life waiting for the perfect storybook romance, but as she approaches her senior year of college -- single, and incredibly disappointed with the male species -- she decides she's sick of daydreaming. Turning her back on...
"You're not exactly known for your audacious tendencies, Moe. Gambling is all risk management, and you order the exact same thing on the menu at every restaurant."
"That's...a matter of good taste," I argued, ignoring his snort. "Besides. I took a risk with you, didn't I? Driving you home that night? Staying the night?" Not to mention, giving him the honor of swiping my v-card. "For all I knew, you were a serial killer."
He snickered, lifting his hands as an act of surrender. "Fine. You're right; you take calculated risks."
"Good ones, too."
"Yeah?"
I pursed my lips, but it was too late to retract the compliment. "Sometimes."
He hummed, and we leaned against the wall before us, grazing shoulders and fogging up the glass panels. But while my eyes settled on the fountain below, our single point of contact consumed my mind.
The constrained intimacy made me ache for some privacy and a bedroom all to ourselves. It made me yearn for the chance to pin Theo to the mattress and show him what I could do. To watch him worship my body in a way that would never compare to the subtle glances he'd paid to the women of the Strip.
And as he turned to address me again, I thought he was about to propose exactly that when he said, "I know this isn't your ideal spring break. But it's really awesome of you to do this for your uncle."
Oh.
Well. That was certainly not what I expected to fall off his tongue. And now I felt like a nymphomaniac.
I shrugged off the praise. "Same for you. You didn't have to do all this. You're not even related to Jay."
"I know." He bent his head closer, bringing his lips two inches from mine. Hazel eyes flicked from my pupils to my mouth. "But he's not the only one I'm doing this for."
His kiss was soft and warm and maddeningly addictive. His tongue rolled against my bottom lip, and a shiver raced across my nape as I opened up, welcoming the taste of him, the shape of him, the heat of his mouth. Kisses like these transported me somewhere else, and I knew I'd get lost in him if I prolonged this moment a second more.
Tempting, but we had an expensive itinerary on the line.
I pulled away and opened my eyes, hating the sense of deficiency that invaded my chest. "The magic show is at eight," I whispered. "Should we fetch Jay and grab a bite to eat?"
Theo straightened, and he looked a little touch-starved as well, like his restraint was slowly killing him. "I guess. Will you shield me from the cougar who says I remind her of a young John Stamos?"
I snorted. "You tell people to fuck off every day at your job, and suddenly you can't fend for yourself?"
"I'm building a brand at Grounds. Those are customers," he explained. "I'm not out here trying to be an asshole to complete strangers."
"Fine." I grabbed his hand and sighed. "You're weird."
"You love it though."
"I don't...not love it."
He grinned, squeezing my hand, and we walked back inside the marble palace, my grievances forgotten.
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