I shrug lightly. "I think I might be addicted."
He grins, wide and wicked. "That's how it is with ink. You can't have just one."
I lean on the counter. "Kind of like women?"
His black as night eyes widen. "Who you been talkin' to, little girl?"
I shrug casually, some of my nerves dissipating in the back and forth we have going here. "Heard you met my friend last night."
He nods. "Cute. A little uptight, but cute."
I bristle at the assumption that my best friend is anything but 100% awesome. "She was worried about me. I think you were a jerkoff to her."
"Nope. Just asked her out."
That couldn't be the whole story. "Well, she's not your type."
"Sweetness, if a girl's got tits and a warm pussy, she's my type."
My mouth drops open.
He laughs. "You looking for Rush?"
"Yes." Good god, this guy. Now I've got to know what went down. Tonight, I'm going to force it out of Lisa.
He points behind me with one of his tattooed fingers. e"Right behind you, dollface."
I whirl on the spot, and just like that I forget anyone else exists. I saw him only a few hours ago, but it's like I haven't seen him in years. Again. My gaze rakes over his face, swooning over it, memorizing it, in case this doesn't go well. He's wearing dark blue denim and a white tank top that shows off his tongue-tracing ink to perfection. I swallow the saliva that has quickly pooled in my mouth and force a smile. "Hey."
"Hey." He looks on edge, maybe confused as to why I'm there. Maybe disappointed that I'm there at all.
I chew my lip. My heart is slamming against my ribs so hard I think I'm bruised. I feel eyes on me, feel their judgment, too.
"You don't have an appointment, Ads," he says, his tone calm. Not cool. But calm. "And I'm pretty booked up."
Oh my god, what am I doing? He doesn't want this. Doesn't want me. And yet, I forge ahead because I refuse-REFUSE-to fucking have another regret where he's concerned. "This will just take a sec."
He nods, knocks his chin in the direction of his room. "Come on in-"
I never let him finish. I'm too keyed up, and this is it. My moment. To be accepted or to go down in flames.
"I love you," I burst out.
The entire room goes silent. Rush's face darkens. His eyes, too.
"Ads..."
"No," I continue, sounding nuts even to my own ears. God knows what I must look like. "No, that's not right. I'm fucking crazy about you!"
"Damn, brother," Vincent mutters behind us.
Rush turns and snarls at him, "Shut up." Then reaches for me. "Come on. Let's do this in private, Ads."
I draw back. "No." I shake my head at him. "Five years ago, I insulted you in front of a room full of people. Today, everyone's going to hear how fucking amazing you are."
He looks a little stunned, but I press on, my stomach churning. "I've always been crazy about you. You're it for me. Everything. My heart, my guts. My family, my best friend. You're the hottest lover in existence. And you make me feel special, like I matter, like I'm the only one in the world for you." I look at Vincent and flip him off. "That was for you, asshat."
Everyone hoots, and Vincent grabs his chest and groans, "Oh hot damn, I think I love her."
"No you don't," Rush snarls again. "And shut up."
I stare at him. Eyes locked. I don't care about anything else. "I want to do this, Rush. Me and you. Do you want to do this?"
"What about school, L.A., your paper?" His body, his sexy, inked-up body is so tense, so on edge. "Isn't that thing due tomorrow?"
I grin. I grin so wide it hurts. "I don't give a shit about my stupid paper. I'll get a fucking extension." I take a step toward him and stop. "I love you. Like crazy kind of love, understand me?"
He nods, real slow, his eyes so dark green they're nearly all iris. "Yeah, baby, I understand. I fucking love you, too. Crazy."
Tears scratch at my throat. I can't believe what I'm hearing. Can't believe we're doing this. Again. Starting over. Starting clean.
His lip curls and he growls at me. "Get your sweet ass over here."
I squeal and dive into his arms. He lifts me and grabs my backside, tucking me into him. Smiling like I just won the lottery-and let's face it, I fucking did! I wrap my legs around his waist and cross my ankles behind his back, locking him in tight.
"What now, Rush?" I whisper against his mouth as everyone hoots and catcalls around us. "What do we do now?"
He grins, wicked and sexy. "Let's start with an epic kiss, baby and see where we go from there."
The End