He sighs and looks around the room, like he’s searching for an answer. Finally, he looks back at me. “To be clear, you do not have to do anything. But if you want to, then fine. Do you still know how to bartend?”
I look at him with a teasing, skeptical grin. “Have you been spying on me, Pretty Boy?”
I have picked up random bartender shifts. You would have to really be paying attention to know that though, especially if you’re always at work or out of town as much as he is.
“I’m just observant.” His little smirk tells me I might be right though. “But hey, do you have my car keys?”
I furrow my brow. “Yeah, why? I thought you said I could keep it.”
He raises his brows. “Just give them to me for a minute.”
He holds out his open hand and I unclip my carabiner from my belt loop before handing them over.
“Thank you. See, was that so hard?”
“Do you always have to be so insistent?”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his keys and fiddles with them. “Do you always have to be so stubborn?”
Before I can answer that, he grabs my wrist and turns over my hand, dropping the car keys back into my palm.
“There. Now you have the key to that apartment. Use it whenever you want. If you have any questions, just text me.”
My eyes drop to my palm and I spot the new key on the ring. Then my eyes track to where his hand is gently holding my wrist. Even though he’s barely applying pressure, I feel my pulse hammer under his thumb and the warmth of his worn skin. Even now, his touch sends sparks up my arm and acrossthe entirety of my body. Then my eyes notice his knuckles. It’s been a while since I’ve looked that closely at his hands, but it feels like there are even more little scars littering the weathered backs of his hand. Part of me wants to reach out with my other hand and feel each little ridge and bump under my fingertips, but I resist that urge.
“What makes you think I still have your number?” I challenge.
He lets out a low laugh and shrugs. “I still have yours.”
He says it like he already knows I never deleted it or blocked it and I hate that he’s right. I’m almost ashamed to admit the number of times I scrolled to the bottom of my texts and found his and thought about texting him. Then I would either second guess myself, thinking that there’s no way he would want to talk to me after I ghosted him. Sometimes I would get past that self-doubt and click on the old text, then I’d see the address and go into a new cycle of being mad at him.
I don’t know if he senses my internal spiraling, but he lets go of my wrist and rasps his knuckles on the counter before standing up.
“Anyway, I should get going. No pressure if you want to crash there or not, but there’s a staircase behind the house that goes?—”
“Yeah. I know where it is.”
He sighs and palms his face. “Duh. Of course you know that. Also if you insist on doing something to return the favor, we can talk about some shifts at Gloria’s later.”
“Thanks,” I say, mustering another sincere smile.
His eyes drop to my mouth and he clearly notices based on the way his eyes light up.
“There’s that smile.” His eyes linger on my lips before he sucks in a long breath. “Alright, well, I’ll see you around.”
He starts to walk away, but I stand to follow him. “Are youheading to the airport? I could give you a ride. I still have your SUV after all. It’s the least I can do.”
He smirks back at me. “Have you been keeping tabs on me too?”
Damnit. I walked right into that one.
He laughs before opening the front door and leaning against the door frame. “Just so you know, I don’t leaveeveryweekend. I do actually enjoy being here. Tonight, I’m going over to TJ’s to hang out with him and Grace.”
“Oh,” I say, looking down at my boots. There’s still so much I don’t know about him I guess.
“And, Shadow?” Before I can look up, I feel his worn fingers graze the skin under my chin, tipping my face up to meet his gaze. That little bit of contact short circuits my brain and my lips part. “Get some sleep. I want to see you at your best when you come to Gloria’s this week.”
With that, he walks out before I can get my brain functioning enough to form a sentence likehey, don’t make me reconsider this absurd idea.Oris that apartment furnished? Do I need to bring my own towels and toiletries?