After Math(33)

We begin to weave through the crowd toward our table when I see Tucker making his way toward me. My heart skips a beat, and I continue to follow Caroline until Tucker reaches me and blocks my path. His mouth is pursed, but his eyes plead with mine.

“Scarlett, I want to dance with you.”

I like that he doesn’t ask and make me wonder his motivation. Instead, he makes it clear this is what he wants. How can he be so clear yet so obtuse at the same time?

I want to tell him no, but I can’t, so I nod.

A soft smile lifts his scowl, and he takes my hand and pulls me out onto the floor, stopping in the middle of the crowd.

I’ve abandoned Caroline. I turn back to find her and see her staring, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. I know she doesn’t understand. I don’t totally understand, and I’m the one in this relationship, if that’s what I can call it.

Tucker drops his hold on my hand and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close to his chest. I reach my hands around his neck and look into his face, trying to figure out what’s going through his head.

He doesn’t speak, just looks into my eyes, his arms tight around my back, as though he’s afraid I’ll walk away. My body responds being this near to him, tensing and relaxing at the same time, a weird tug of war over self-preservation and need. The heat of his body flows into mine, and my breath comes in shallow pants as I stare at his lips, only inches from mine. I think about what he did with those lips last night and this morning. My body betrays my resolve, and I release a soft moan.

There’s no way he could have heard my sound with this noise and the crowd, but he does, his eyes sinking closed. His neck tenses, and when he opens his eyes, they are full of lust and desire. “I want to take you home.”

My reaction to his request is confusing. I want us to be together, but I don’t want him with me because he’s worried someone else is going to pick me up. “Let’s go somewhere and talk first.”

He nods and takes my hand, pulling me to the back of the club, toward the restrooms. We go down a long hall toward a storage room. Tucker knows where he’s going, and it’s obvious he’s been here before. I try not to think about what that means.

When we’ve entered the backroom, Tucker’s mouth finds mine. His hands are on my waist and slipping under my shirt.

My body, already at a slow simmer, instantly responds, igniting into a blaze. I want him even more than I did last night and this morning. But I need to think, and I need some answers. I don’t expect the answers to everything, but I at least need a few. He owes me that.

I put my hands on his chest and push him away. “Tucker, we need to talk.”





Chapter Twenty-One





He nods, but his hands are still on my waist, partially under my shirt.

I find it difficult to concentrate when he’s touching me, but I’ve wanted this for so long, this connection to someone else, that I can’t make myself break away from it. “You told me you love that I tell you the truth. I want the same from you. Even if you think it will hurt me.”

“Okay.” His face is solemn, and I know he’s taking my request seriously.

“Are you running away from me?”

His hands drop and he backs up, running his hand over his head. “Shit. You don’t waste time, do you?”

“I don’t see the point.”

A grin flickers briefly on his face before his seriousness replaces it. “Yes.”

I knew it. I expected it, and I hoped he’d admit it, but now that he has, my breath catches in my throat.

“But it’s not what you think, Scarlett.”

“Okay,” I say without criticism. “Then tell me what it is.”

“I wasn’t leaving you forever. Just for tonight. It got so intense, so quickly. I just needed to give it some space.”

“By coming here tonight?”

He closes his eyes. “I know how it looks.”

I press my back against some storage shelves. “I don’t expect anything from you, Tucker. I just want you to be honest with me.”

His head jerks up, his face splotchy. “Don’t do that, Scarlett. Don’t let me treat you like shit. I need you to expect more from me. You’re the one person who does.”

Is his self-destructive behavior a test to the people around him, to see if they think he’s worth fighting for?

I step toward him and touch his cheek. “It’s like you set yourself up to fail on purpose.”

He closes his eyes and tries to turn his face away, but I cradle the other side of his face, holding him in place.

“You told me that I make you want to be a better person, and I know you can be, Tucker. But you need to want to be a better person on your own. Not because of me.”