Page 4 of Final Girl

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“He’s making his move. Finally.” She mutters under her breath something about how he has taken his damn time on this.

Shaking my head slightly at her words, I realize she’s lost her mind. “You’re crazy. He probably just wanted to have lunch with you. That doesn’t mean he has the hots for me.” This is Pike we’re talking about. He never even looks at me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he doesn’t know I exist. Lately, the past few months or longer, he’s gone out of his way to avoid any contact with me. I was questioning if I’d done or said something to offend him.

“Dels.” She smiles big. “He does, because he flat up told me that he was finally gonna make a play and I wasn’t allowed to be pissed off at him.”

She’s seriously delusional, because Pike is already here, and I just watched him check out Sally. Totally ignoring me like usual. She must have misread everything, or he was messing with her.

He’s probably trying to get a rise out of her. There’s no way he looks at me as anything more than his sister’s best friend.

Soon as I go to tell her just that, a shadow falls over our booth, and I think it’s Sally finally bringing me my food, or at least to take Talia’s order. When I peer up. There he is. Pike. The man I’ve been crushing on since I was ten years old. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he ever noticed me, but here he is, staring down at me with his panty dropping smile that has me wanting to drop to my knees for him to pay worship to his cock. At least, that’s what happens in some of my fantasies about him.

“Hey big bro, sit. Sit.” Talia goes to move over, but instead of sliding into the empty seat, he gives me a warm smile and slides into my space, forcing me to shove over, my eyes so wide, I swear I probably favor some type of bug. Talia, of course, has the biggest smirk ever as she winks at me.

Okay then, maybe she was right? Or he could just not want to sit next to his sister. I mean, maybe? I’m an only child, so I’m only guessing.

My heart is in my throat. The scent of his cologne invades my senses. Spicy and woodsy. All man. He smells like my Christmas just came early.

But why me? Why now?

Whatever the reason, I’m going to melt right here as his thigh presses against mine.

“What are you two whispering about?” He slings an arm across the back of the booth, tapping his fingers against the red leather and my left shoulder.

What’s happening? Sure, Pike knows me due to my bestie status where his sister is concerned, but he’s never paid attention to me. Not like this. Not in a flirty way. Inside, I’m freaking out, while hopefully playing it cool on the outside.

Just breathe Delaney, just breathe.

“Not you,” Talia teases.

“Right. Sure. Ok. What then?” His opposite arm comes up, and he pinches my chin, forcing me to meet his gorgeous brown eyes. “What has those cheeks of yours so pink?”

“Um.” I lick my lips, noticing his eyes dropping to watch the act in motion. The curve of his mouth tugs upward. He wears this sexy grin that tells me he knows exactly what we were talking about.

Him.

Oh God. Why is he looking at me like he’s wondering what my lips taste like? I do a slow blink. I must be dreaming.

This must be a prank. Talia must be in on it. There’s no way Pike is sitting here next to me, staring at me as though he’s thinking about kissing me. At least that’s the way I imagine the heroes in the books I read gaze at the woman they love before they make their move.

“Movies,” I blurt. “We were talking about how our theater is always the last to get the new releases.”

“The movies sound fun. Count me in.”

Talia beams at me while I try not to cream my panties at the thought of being in a dark theater next to Pike. His thigh touching mine even more than it is currently. Our arms sharing the same armrest. Wait, what? I think I missed something. I didn’t say anything about going to the movies.

“We were going to go see that new slasher flick, but I can’t go. I promised Molly I’d watch Tanner for her. She has a date or something. With that professor.”

“He finally asked her out?” I question, almost forgetting about Pike, but not quite. I mean, he is Pike Harris after all. Only the hottest guy in this town. Well, in my eyes anyway.

“Yeah. She’s stoked. But you guys should go without me.”

Pike bumps his shoulder against mine. “Pick you up at seven. Saturday night, beautiful.” He leans in close, and I inhale the intoxicating scent that is all him. His dark hair is styled in that messy just rolled of bed fashion or like he just spent half his morning doing the deed. That I don’t have to even try to appearance that some guys can pull off. Not all guys but Pike could get away with anything.

Maybe not anything. But close to it. That’s what Talia always has said. Her brother could get away with murder with their folks, but if she so much as sneezed funny, they’d ground her. That’s sibling rivalry for you, though. Not that it matters. We aren’t kids anymore.

“Delaney?” Pike says my name all soft and airy, and I stare into the deep brown pools of his gaze, practically melting like chocolate in his palm. He grins and flicks me on the nose. “Saturday. Don’t forget.” He grabs his to go bag off the table.