The Wright Mistake(29)

Then, she bit her bottom lip, which sent my mind straight into the gutter. My dick twitched at the look, and it took effort not to say fuck a date. I wanted her body.

“Glad you can admit you want me at least.”

She huffed. “I did not say that.”

“Don’t worry, Jules. Your secrets are safe with me.”

She cut her eyes away from mine, and I could see that there was so much more under the surface than she wanted to admit. To me or anyone.

“Just pick me up after six thirty because I’ll be at the range until then.”

“Why don’t we start there?”

“Have you ever even fired a gun?” she asked with her own cocky grin.

“Wait and see.”

“Good luck, Wright.”

“Don’t need it.”

She rolled her eyes and then sashayed out of my office. I watched her perfect ass as she disappeared.

Well, fuck.

I had a date with Julia Banner. Without alcohol.

This was going to be interesting.





Twelve



Julia


What the hell did I just do?

I’d been single a total of one whole week, and already, I was jumping back into things with Austin. On a scale from one to horrible life choice, I was pretty high up there.

But I couldn’t back down now. Even though I still thought slapping him sounded like the better option, I couldn’t deny what Heidi and Emery had said. They’d laid it out, and plain and simple, Austin was chasing me. He had to still be interested in me to do that. And not just in the physical sense because I knew he could get it a lot easier than me.

I had reasons to run. Good reasons. But I had a hard time listening to my head when my heart and body were screaming at me. Austin ignited something in me. When we were together, we were electric. Sometimes, that was amazing, and sometimes, it completely blew up in my face, as it had two years ago.

I was rolling the dice and hoping I’d beat the house.

It made the rest of the week drag. Anticipation hit me like a sledgehammer. I swore, every day, all day, was like watching water boil. I couldn’t tell if the churning in my stomach was nerves or excitement. I tried not to overanalyze it, but that was nearly impossible. Overanalyzing situations down to the smallest part was kind of my job. It made it hard not to do it in my own life.

“Really, just chill out,” Heidi said on Friday afternoon as I was finally, finally leaving the office.

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re engaged. Shit all worked out.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t rainbows and fucking unicorns when it all happened. You remember that.”

I winced. “Yeah. I do.”

Heidi sighed. “Look relationships aren’t easy. Especially not with the Wrights. They have actual skeletons in their closets and, sometimes, psycho ex-wives and a legion of devoted fans.” Heidi shook her head. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, enjoy your time. If he acts like a dick, then ditch him.”

“Sage advice from my bubblegum queen.”

Heidi rolled her eyes. “One day, I will get you into pink.”

“I’d like to see that.”

“One day, damn it.” She laughed and shook out her blonde mane. “So, call me after the date to fill me in on the details. Unless, of course, you make it an all-nighter.”

“Heidi!”

She held her hands up. “Then, I expect a report tomorrow or whenever you two surface.”

“You’re horrible.”

“It’s not like it’s the first time. Right?”

“Well, we’re starting over.”

“Did you really tell him no alcohol?”

I nodded.

“You’re brave. I love you.”

She waved at me and then jogged over to her car to get out of the oppressive heat. This was the first week we’d hit the high nineties, and I was already dying. My pale skin was not used to these rays. It got hot in Akron, but nothing compared to Texas summers. This Ohio girl was not a fan of this weather.

I thought about Heidi’s comment the entire drive back to my apartment. Had I been brave for asking Austin not to drink on our date? I didn’t know if it was bravery or stupidity. Things had fallen apart last time because of his drinking. Maybe I was a fool to think that it wouldn’t wreak havoc this time around as well. But I had to at least try.

Despite knowing that we were going out after the shooting range, I didn’t put on anything fancy. Just a black V-neck tank top, a pair of shorts, and my Vans slip-ons that he’d tried to ruin at the lake. I hoped we weren’t going anywhere that I needed to be dressed nicer than this.

I shrugged off the momentary anxiety. Austin didn’t care what I was wearing. The last time we’d been together, we’d hardly left his bedroom. So, I knew he gave zero fucks about what kind of clothes I wore. Not that I intended to end up in his bedroom. This was not going to be a repeat of the last time we had been together.