BEAST
“No,” Allison said, shaking her head, then bit into a chip.
The single word relieved some of the irrational tension he’d begun to feel. Though he did his best to hide it. This was further proof of what Allison was already capable of doing to him. It’d been just weeks since he’d met her and unwisely began to let her in. Already, there’d been too many times when he’d had to calm his unreasonable sense of entitlement.
It was one thing to feel like the horny assholes down at the gym, who’d seen him around Allison enough times now, should at least question whether she was off limits. So, his annoyance with them openly sizing her up the way they did when she wasn’t looking—but Leo caught it—was reasonably understandable. But it was another thing, and completely uncalled for, to be so annoyed about hearing she had a social life outside the gym.
If anything, this should relieve him. He’d begun to think maybe, despite the age difference, Allison might actually be considering this to be more than the acquaintanceship they had now. Maybe that was why she never spoke of a social life. Of course, Leo refused to ask her about it, so it’d never been discussed. But it made perfect sense she’d have one. As well she should, and this would take the pressure off his constant stressing about whether he should just go with this. Whatever happened, happened. That decision would be out of his hands if she was someone else’s chick.
She finished chewing and wiped her mouth. “The dinner was a group thing, I mean. But things between him and me have changed since that evening and . . .”
Of course, the fucking waiter would arrive right at that moment to take their orders. Leo had been so caught up with their conversation he’d hardly looked through the menu. Allison, on the other hand, was ready with her order. “I’ll have the chipotle crab cakes,” she said, handing the waiter her menu.
Leo skimmed over the menu one more time before just handing it back to the waiter. “I’ll take the shrimp cocktail and a couple of ceviche tostadas,” he said, going with what he knew was always a safe bet.
“Ooh, ceviche,” Allison said then frowned. “I shouldn’t though.”
“Why not?” Leo asked, annoyed by her constant worry with her weight.
As far as he was concerned, Allison’s curves were smoking hot and the reason for too many of his long showers lately. It was absurd to him that she’d think they were anything but cock-hardening and perfect.
“The crab cakes are already fried. Spandex was meant to stretch, but—”
“Bring her a ceviche tostada,” Leo said to the waiter before she could finish and give the waiter permission to eye her spandex outfit.
“You got it.” The waiter nodded then smiled and walked away.
Leo turned back to Allison. “You were saying?”
She smirked, shaking her head. “I was saying spandex was meant to stretch but not as much as mine do. I need to lay off meals with so many calories.”
“News flash.” Leo reached for his glass of water. “You look hot as fuck in your workout outfits. Trust me. No one in that gym or anywhere is complaining about how nicely that spandex hugs all those curves.”
He brought the glass of water to his mouth when he realized he’d just spewed out a bunch of shit again without even thinking. At least before he was only guilty of admitting he thought his young gym acquaintance was adorable. Now, he’d just admitted he thought her hot and that he’d been enjoying her curves all this time.
No surprise her face reddened in response to his comment. Trying not to panic or bring more attention to his latest fuck-up, he shook his head as he set his glass down. “So, what were you saying about you and Carson?”
Just saying the dude’s name already left a bad taste in his mouth. Leo straightened out, needing to get his shit together before she picked up on anything. As good as she was getting at reading him, she didn’t even have to try if he was going to be so damn obvious about it.
Allison wasn’t the only one good at this reading-people shit. Leo didn’t miss the tiny lift of her brow in reaction to his question. Though he wasn’t nearly as good as she was in zeroing in on the possible reason. Her face was still pink from his earlier remark, and that lift of her brow he caught wasn’t exactly a playful one. So, he was clueless as to what to make of it.
Fidgeting with her napkin, she looked him straight in the eyes. She cleared her throat. It was soft, and Leo suspected she was hoping he wouldn’t hear, but he did. At least he already knew what that meant—she was nervous.
“Like I said, he and I butted heads often in the past, but ever since that group night out, things have really changed.” She lifted and dropped a delicate little shoulder, and as usual, Leo’s eyes followed her every move. “Things have just been noticeably amicable between him and me ever since, and I’m sure it’s crossed the minds of some of the others in class that maybe that’s why my story made the front page.”
Noticeably amicable? What the fuck did that mean? His whole life it’d been impossible to hide any irritation once he’d begun to feel it. Only this was different from any he’d ever felt, and he knew exactly why.
Sucked in.
It was happening faster than he’d dreaded. There was no way to hide it now because he was certain, as good as she was at reading him, she already had. So, he took the only other route he could. “Fuck anyone’s assumptions. I read the article. It’s front-page worthy, and anyone who reads it wouldn’t be able to argue that.”
Again, she seemed surprised by his reaction but then smiled. “Well, thank you for that. My sister would agree with you in a heartbeat. Verbatim,” she added with a giggle.
A couple of guys he recognized from the gym walked into the restaurant, eyeing him and Allison casually before being seated. Leo knew he should drop it already, talk about anything else. But curiosity got the best of him, damn it. More than anything, he just needed to know. He needed more ammunition as to why he really should cut her off completely. This harmless little just-staying-in-touch bullshit already had him considering doing things he vowed he never would.
“Isn’t dating your professor breaking some kind of rule?”
Her eyes went wide, but the waiter with the most fucked timing ever was at the table with their food. He set down their plates and silverware, refilled their waters, and asked if there was anything else he could get them before leaving them the hell alone.
“Carson’s not the professor,” she explained as she dug into one of her crab cakes with a fork.
Leo waited, still unable to even think about eating because she’d sort of answered the question but not with what he really wanted to know. Was she dating the guy?
After a couple of seconds of him still waiting for her to say more, she glanced up at him then at his untouched food. “What’s wrong? You don’t like the food?”
“Haven’t even tasted it yet.”
He saw the change in her eyes the moment he said it. He’d been too busy staring at her to bother with his food and she knew it. Gazing into her eyes shouldn’t still be so fucking all-consuming.
He shook his head, breaking free of what had begun to feel like another one of their moments. Reaching for his fork, he wrestled with his thoughts. Maybe he really should break free of her before it was too late.
“How’s your food?” he asked, spearing one of the shrimp in his cocktail.
“It’s delicious,” she said, though she didn’t sound as convincing as when she usually declared something being delicious. “He’s a student editor,” she added the clarification without his asking, and Leo couldn’t even bring himself to look up from his food at her. “Technically, it wasn’t a date, but he mentioned it in class a few times.” Now Leo glanced up and their eyes locked. “I just wish the timeline had been a little different. I’m sure it’s what at least some in the class must be thinking. That he might be playing favorites with a girl he’s gone out with.”
“He probably is,” Leo said because how the fuck could Allison not be anyone’s favorite anything? But then he quickly added because her brow had risen again only not in a playful way, “Not that your article wasn’t deserving of the front page. I’m just saying how could he possibly resist not making you his favorite?”
Her expression softened into something so painfully sweet it almost hurt to even think it. But the color in her face once again deepening in response to his continued word vomit had Leo once again contemplating going back to avoiding Allison at all costs. She’d just admitted she gone out with the editor, a college boy likely her age who no doubt was full of goals and aspirations. Someone with a bright future ahead of him and the kind of guy she deserved.
Leo picked up one of his tostadas and took a bite. It was damn good but as usual messy. The damn tostada broke, leaving Leo with a half in each hand and most of the middle part spilled onto his plate.
Allison giggled. “I usually just eat mine with chips. You’re gonna end up scooping them up with the pieces of tortilla anyway.”
Nodding in agreement, Leo bit one of the broken sides and held the other, but his fingers were full of the stuff. “How’s the crab cake?” Leo asked without even looking up.
“Good, you wanna try it?”
When he glanced up at her, she was picking up a piece with her fingers. With both hands still full or messy, she didn’t wait for him to clean off his messy hand. “Here,” she said, reaching out to feed it to him.
Leo opened up, closing his lips before her finger was all the way out, and she didn’t move it. Instead, she let it linger as he licked he crab cake and her finger in the process. As she pulled her finger away, their heavy eye contact remained intact.
“It’s good,” he finally said, breaking the silence. But he had to straighten up to allow his tightening crotch to adjust. “Very good.”
Unable to take his eyes off her for far too long, Leo knew he was in trouble. If he continued to spend time around her, there was no way he’d be able to hold out for much longer. What he’d suspected was clear now. She was feeling more than she should too. But bringing her into his world was still an impossibility. The confirmation that she still had a chance to be with someone safe had already felt like reason enough to step back. But this sealed it. He needed to step back before he was helpless to do so. Already this girl had managed to suck him in deeper than he should’ve allowed. Just like all the other visuals and thoughts that had tormented him since the day he’d first laid eyes on her, she just added another. There was only so much any man could take, and Leo knew what he had to do before she broke him.