“Go ahead. Do it. Drop the towel. I dare you!” I teased, playing along.
Drake’s eyes flared as he cocked his head at me. He took several steps in my direction before pulling the knot loose and letting the towel fall. I fought hard to keep my eyes locked with his instead of looking down. If I did, I knew I’d be a goner and we wouldn’t make it out the door for breakfast. I truly was starving, and I could use a little bit of distance this morning. Things were moving so quickly, and the feelings he evoked in me were too powerful.
“You afraid to look, baby?” he taunted me.
I slapped my hands over my face, covering my eyes to help resist the temptation he presented. “Nope. Not gonna work, Drake.”
“Nerves of steel, huh? Fine, I’ll throw my clothes on and we’ll head out to breakfast. Party pooper!”
I threw my stuff back into my purse, barely getting it to all fit. By the time Drake was dressed, I’d checked the room to make sure we weren’t leaving anything behind. As we left the room, I turned to look back. I had a feeling Drake had just made the Hyatt Place my favorite hotel with the memory of our first sexual encounter etched in my mind. He’d left me wanting more, too, damn him!
Drake took me to a local hole-in-the-wall diner that served amazing breakfasts. As we walked in, I recognized several people at tables enjoying their Saturday morning. They were all friends of my dad, so I was sure that I’d be hearing from him later today when word got back that I’d been spotted here with Drake this early. And this is why looking presentable had been so important this morning. If I had combined my outfit from yesterday with bed head and no mascara, I’d have a hard time explaining to my dad what was going on. Now I could just say we’d met for breakfast without worrying that Dad would know I’d been doing the walk of shame. Yet another thing for which Aubrey deserved my thanks.
“How is it that you seem to know someone everywhere we go?” Drake asked as the waitress placed the food on the table.
“When you grow up in a college town this size, you get to know just about everybody. Plus, Aubrey’s family owns the local bank so they literally know everyone. We’ve been best friends forever, so I pretty much know anyone she does, too. A lot of people know me through her.”
“I like how you and Aubrey are so tight. You seem so different from each other, but you fit together as friends.”
“She’s awesome! I really lucked out in the best friend department. How about you? It had to have been hard transferring here as a junior and leaving your friends behind.”
Drake shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, but I can hang out with the guys on the team or from the frat. Most of them seem cool enough. I’ve hung out with the team captain, Zach, a few times after practice. He wanted to make sure I was fitting in okay, I guess.”
“And Jackson? How are things between you guys at the house? You’ve been getting along when I’m around you both.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand that was playing around with my silverware. “Alexa, don’t worry about Jackson and me. We’re getting along fine. He gets where I’m going with you, and I know where he stands with you.”
“I just need you guys to be okay, that’s all. He’s the closest thing I have to a brother, and you’re becoming important to me.”
“Baby, the last thing I want to do is mess up your friendship with Jackson. I know what he means to you. Won’t say that it isn’t a little hard for me to swallow knowing how close you are to him, but I get it. I’ll try to tone down my caveman tendencies when it comes to him, but not with any other guy.”
I giggled in response. “You don’t have to worry. There is no other guy, and Jackson really isn’t a guy. He’s just Jackson.”
“You keep thinking about him like that, and I won’t have any problems with Jackson. Okay?”
“Deal! I can totally agree to that,” I smiled across at him. “So, how’s your breakfast? Mine is yummy!” I gestured to his plate, wanting to change the subject and break some of the tension.
“Great omelet. Don’t know how you can get by without any protein in the morning.” He shook his head as he looked at my plate of pancakes.
“Hey, there are eggs in here, too!”
“Barely. Want some of mine?” he asked as he scooped up a forkful of omelet.
“Um, no thanks. See how hidden the egg is in my pancakes? So that you don’t really know they’re in there? That’s how I like my eggs. Yuck!”
He took a big bite and moaned in appreciation. “No eggs for you then. I guess that means I’ll have to learn how to make pancakes.”