“Well, he’s a great person. He’s one of my closest friends. But he’s not the kind of guy you want to date your sister. You catch my drift?”
“Does it look like I catch your drift?” I snapped.
He glanced over his shoulder again to make sure Hawke couldn’t eavesdrop. “He’s a player. He doesn’t do the girlfriend thing. He’s…you know what I mean. I thought I detected some kind of…I don’t know…connection between you two. I just didn’t want you to waste your time with him. I know I tease you a lot, but I don’t want you to get hurt. You’ve been through enough as it is.”
He’s a player? He doesn’t do the girlfriend thing?
“I just wanted to give you a heads up. You know I don’t stick my nose in your business but…I thought I should say something. All the girls like him so I’m sure you think he’s cute or whatever.”
My heart fell into my stomach. “Well…thanks.”
Axel didn’t detect the disappointment in my voice.
Now everything made more sense. I was looking for something serious—eventually—and he was looking for something fun that would never go anywhere. That was why he didn’t sleep with me. He thought I wanted a meaningless fling when I asked him out and kissed him in front of his truck, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. But when I made the comment about breakfast and wanting to take things slow, he must have understood I wanted something more than a single night. He could have accepted my invitation to come inside and then blew me off the following morning after he got what he wanted, but he didn’t.
So how could I possibly hate him?
CHAPTER SIX
Hawke
Axel knocked before he came into my bedroom. “You busy?”
“No.” I locked the screen to my phone and shoved it into my pocket. “What’s up?”
“Want to go out tonight?”
“Go out where?” Last time I checked, we were in the middle of nowhere.
“There’re a few bars in town. And Thanksgiving weekend is the best time to pick up girls. They’re depressed about being alone and crap.”
Francesca’s face immediately came into my mind even though I wasn’t sure why. “Maybe we should stay here so you can spend time with your family.”
“We would leave late after dinner. Yaya will be asleep and so will Francesca.”
It still didn’t feel right.
“And there’re cheap motels nearby so we can bring the girls there. Maybe we can swap like last time.”
It was one thing to stop dating Francesca and decide to be friends, but it was another matter to parade my personal life around her. I really did like her, and spending time with her over the weekend just made my fondness grow. She was different than other girls. She was smart, confident, and strong. She took care of herself and didn’t need a man to help her out of a boat or carry her pack on a hike.
And that was why I couldn’t be with her.
When she came on to me, I thought she just wanted a fling. Like all the others, we would spend a night fucking before I got bored with her and kicked her aside. But when she said she wanted to cultivate a relationship before sex, I realized I’d completely misread her.
And I felt like an idiot.
I didn’t want to walk away the way I did. But I didn’t want to give her a reason to call me. I pushed her away so she wouldn’t want anything to do with me.
Because I knew I would struggle to stay away from her.
The Grind didn’t serve the best coffee. It was mediocre and overpriced. But I went just to see her. I liked talking to her, flirting back and forth. She had a warmth to her that immediately pulled me in.
I loved the curves of her body and the way her lips tasted. I’d thought about fucking her for the entire date. I fantasized about all the different ways I’d make her come around my dick.
I still wanted to fuck her.
But I never could. She was unattainable. She would ask me for something I could never give her, and not just her but anybody. It could never happen, not unless she suddenly changed her mind about what she wanted.
But that would never happen.
I respected her, and I really liked her. I suspected that fondness would never go away. There was a connection between us, one I couldn’t deny no matter how hard I tried. And because of that, I couldn’t go out with her brother when she would know exactly what I was doing. It made me feel guilty in a way I’ll never be able to explain. “Let’s stay here. We can go out any other time.”
Axel stared at me suspiciously because I’d never said anything like that in my life. “What?”
“It’s Thanksgiving, man. It can wait.”
“I said we would go after dinner.”
“It’s still rude.”
Axel caught on to my thoughts. “Do you have a thing for my sister?” His friendly attitude completely evaporated. My friend was replaced by a territorial and protective brother. His nostrils flared and his horns emerged. “My sister isn’t the kind of girl you’re looking for. She’s not an easy lay. She actually has some class. And I’ll punch your teeth out if you try anything.”
I could never tell him that I already dated her. “No, I don’t have a thing for her.”