Out of Line (Out of Line #1)(20)
Author: Jen McLaughlin

I didn’t want to hurry the inevitable along.

She slid her fingers inside of mine, her fingers so small and dainty, and I held on tight. Right or wrong, I didn’t want to let go. I wanted to hold her close, cherish her, and continue to show her how fun life could be when you spend your time with the right person. I wanted to show her everything.

“Why are you so quiet?” she asked, darting a quick look at me. “Is something wrong?”

Shit. How long had I been quiet? “No, nothing’s wrong.” I led her up the walk toward my small studio apartment. “I’m just tired.”

“Oh. Do you want to cancel?”

Yes. “No.” I unlocked the door. “It’s nothing a little bit of coffee won’t help.”

“No beer tonight?” She nudged my arm.

“Not for the nineteen-year-old. Your father would kill me if he found out I was giving alcohol to a minor.”

“You don’t know him and he doesn’t know you.” She rolled her eyes. “I think you’re safe.”

My heart squeezed tight. “Not if he has security watching you like you said.” I hated this game. I hated lying. I hated not telling her I was the security watching her. “I’m not going to jail for supplying a minor with booze.”

She huffed. “What’s the good of having a friend who is older than twenty-one if he won’t get me drunk?”

“I’ll tell you what I’m good at,” I said, stopping and slinging her over my shoulder. “I’m good for surfing, riding a bike, and carrying your cute little ass around.”

She giggled and tried to squirm free, but I tightened my grip on her thighs. I liked her in this position. I had a great view. “Put me down!”

“Nope.” I juggled her weight and my key, finally managing to open the door to my apartment without dropping her on her perfect little ass. “I’m keeping you forever. Tell your bodyguards that, nice and loud.”

She snorted. “If they’re watching, they’ll come running.”

“Then this is a good way to find out if they’re here. Play the part of damsel in distress properly.” I slapped her ass and stood on the threshold. “Call out for help, or I’ll smack you harder.”

“Help!” she cried, her voice convincingly strained. “Someone, help me!”

“Nice.” I slammed the door behind us and set her on her feet, even though I didn’t want to. She rushed to the window and peeked out. “You should get into acting.”

“No one’s coming. I can’t believe it,” she said excitedly. “He actually trusted me enough to send me here alone.”

Guilt slammed into me, hard and fast and merciless. “See? You were worried about nothing.”

“Words cannot describe how happy I am right now that you offered to be my guinea pig.” She turned and flung herself at me, hugging me tight. “So I’ll show you instead.”

My arms closed around her, and I held her close to my chest. I could feel her heart beating fast against mine, as if she’d just caught a huge wave and rode it through to the end. “Hey, now, it wasn’t exactly rocket science.”

“Still.” She rested her cheek on the spot right above my heart. I forgot how short she was until times like this. She didn’t even reach my shoulders. “Now I know I can really relax. No one’s watching me. You have no idea how wonderful that sensation is. At home, I’d wake up and find security officers watching me sleep. As if a man was going to break in and ravish me in my sleep or something. I had no freedom. None. But now I do, and it’s fabulous.”

“Your dad had people watch you sleep?”

She averted her face. “Yes.”

I swallowed hard. I hadn’t known that part. That went beyond loving parent and into loony-toon territory. “I’m sorry. That’s insane.”

“Yeah, that’s my dad for you.” She lifted her head and smiled up at me, her eyes sparkling. “But I’m finally free.”

She was so easily tricked. So gullible. And I was an ass for taking advantage of that innocence. My throat threatened to close up on me and kill me, right then and there in my own apartment. At this moment, I felt that it would have been a well-deserved death. “Right.”

She pulled back a little bit, her hands resting on my shoulders, and looked up at me with those big blue eyes. If she kept looking at me as if I owned the sun, I would die trying. After holding my gaze for what seemed like an eternity, she rose up on her tiptoes and didn’t stop until her mouth was a scant inch or so from my ear.

“So…since no one’s watching…”

I tightened my grip on her. If she suggested we have wild, crazy sex on the balcony…I wouldn’t say no. I was too weak right now. “Yeah?”

“How about that drink?”

I swallowed a laugh. I didn’t know if I was relieved or disappointed she didn’t want crazy balcony sex. “No way.”

“We’ve quite clearly established there is no one watching. That was your excuse.”

I dropped my hold on her and removed her hands from my shoulders. “You’re just using me for my age, aren’t you? Admit it.”

“That and your bike.” She cocked her head and put her hands on her hips. “Plus, you surf. That’s nice too.”

“I’m hurt.” I held my hand over my heart. “Really.”

“You’re not bad on the eyes either, when you’re not being annoying. Unfortunately for you, that’s almost never.” She headed for my kitchen, tossing me a teasing grin over her shoulder. “Now show me where you keep the good stuff.”

I entwined my hands behind my neck and followed her. Since when did I have to be the voice of reason when it came to drinking? I wasn’t old enough for this shit. Wasn’t old enough or responsible enough to slip into the role of responsible adult for her. And I didn’t want to. “You know you can’t drink.”

“Says who?” She opened the fridge, grabbed two beers, and set them on the counter. “Everyone else on campus is drinking right now. You know it. I know it.”

I dropped my hands and scowled at her. She had a point about everyone else drinking in college, but I still didn’t want to be the man who got the senator’s precious little girl drunk. That wasn’t on my job description. Then again, keeping her from having a drink or two wasn’t on it either. At least she was in a safe environment with me.