Page 24 of Under the Weatherman
“What will you give me?” He leaned in, leering over the shades, his tongue dragging across lips I’d almost kissed, with copious booze flowing through my system.
I took a step back. “You know you’ll get good tips. It’s getting cold out. All the college kids will want to be indoors.”
He walked toward me, and I backed up until I pressed against the bricks. He put one hand above my shoulder and stared into my eyes. Last summer, that move—and tequila—had reduced me to putty, but today? If I hadn’t needed his help, I might have kneed him in the groin.
“I always knew we’d eventually hook up.” God, his confidence was outrageous.
“What makes you think that?” I asked flatly.
“All that flirtation, the coy looks. The constant innuendos.”
He thought my dick jokes were a come-on? I swallowed. “Funny, I thought it was the Cuervo.”
“Nah. We have mad chemistry.” He let loose his charmer smile and lifted his other hand to touch my cheek. “Maybe we could have fun again sometime soon?”
“Kyan,” I growled, ducking under his arm. “Not gonna happen.”
He croaked a laugh. “Just messing with you, Ebert.” His grin widened. “Your face!”
Fucking Kyan. This was why I could never take him seriously. “Don’t do that again.”
“Sorry. You kind of asked for it after the way you’ve treated me. Like you’re too good for me.”
“Well, that makes us even.”
He grabbed his collar and straightened his shirt. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a couple of weeks, but never got a minute free with you.”
“What’s that?”
I braced for him to find another avenue to hit on me, but he surprised me. “Did you meet a guy named Evan recently?”
My eyes shot wide, giving him the answer without so many words. Had they talked about me?
He chuckled. “I thought that had to be you.”
“Did he tell you that?” Or had Kyan set me up after all to get back at me for shooting him down?
“Let me guess, Chelsea dared you to lie to him for her list.” He tilted his head, appraising me. So maybe he hadn’t put Evan up to it.
I burned with mortification. The whole incident seemed so ridiculous in hindsight. “How do you know about Chelsea’s list?”
He cradled his chin with one hand, a finger tapping his mouth, like he was a particularly clever detective. “I believe I may have heard of it.”
“Oh, fuck. Right.” I blushed to my hairline. The night I’d shown it to him, he’d helpfully offered to check offHave a partywith me, which led to shots—off his tight stomach—and almost more. I stared up at the sky.Thiswas why I’d been avoiding him.
Was that what had happened with Evan? Had we just let alcohol fuel bad decisions?
Kyan brushed his mouth with his thumb. “I’m going out on a limb here, but did you somehow convince Evan you went to our high school?”
How had he guessed that? His mocking laugh made me pray the ground would swallow me. But then again, here was my chance to gather intel. “He seemed like a decent guy.”
“Mm hmm.” He ran his tongue across teeth so white, they rivaled Evan’s. “He’s agood-lookingguy.”
I pushed the offensive. “Oh, were you interested?”
“I have eyes. No harm looking.” He splayed his hands with a shrug. “He’s super straight, sadly.”
“What, uh, is his deal?”
