Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The arcade is glowing when we arrive, bright neon lights flashing behind the windows. There aren’t many other people around when we walk in the front doors except a group of teenagers and some kids running around yelling while their mom chases them.

Leon takes my hand and leads me over to a pair of motorcycles. We sit astride them, and he pops some nickels into the machine. I’m utterly clueless about what I’m doing as we select our bikes, so I just pick the one that looks meanest.

“Oh, the Honda,” Leon says with an approving nod. “Good choice.”

Let’s just say that I probably shouldn’t get a motorcycle license. If I’m a terror behind the wheel of a car, it’s a thousand times worse on a motorcycle. I crash into every conceivable wall, and even take out Leon a few times. I come in very last place, barely finishing the course before time runs out. He’s laughing so hard by the end that he slips getting off his motorcycle.

“All right, let’s try a different game, huh?” He glances down at my feet and gives an approving nod when he finds I’m wearing a pair of simple black flats. “Dancing?”

I squint at him. “Dancing? We’re at an arcade.”

“I know.” Again, he takes my hand in his, twining our fingers together. It reminds me of being one of those teenagers on a first date. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

I work up a decent sweat trying to figure out the dancing game, where I have to step on the buttons on the dance pad in time with the screen. My feet have no idea what to do, and it’s the second time I’ve looked like an idiot in front of Leon. He’s barely winded from the long round we just did, where I frantically tried to step on the right arrows.

But when I glance at him from the side of my eye to see if he’s laughing, he’s just looking at me with that intense blue stare of his.

“Do I have something on my face?” I ask, rubbing my cheek surreptitiously.

“No.” The side of his wide mouth turns up in a grin. “You’re just really gorgeous.”

He steps off the dance pad and then offers to help me down, and his earnest compliment has made my legs a little shaky, so I accept.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” he says, his eyes crinkled with amusement, “but you’re really bad at video games. It’s adorable.”

I wonder what other possible way I could take that. Leon’s a little clueless sometimes, which I have to admit I find cute, too.

“I never got to play video games growing up,” I say. “Mom said they ‘weren’t good for developing brains.’ Some of my friends had them, but I only ever got to watch them play.” Now that I think about it, that’s probably why I thought coming to the arcade wouldn’t be fun. I dealt with the fact I didn’t get to have a Wii as a kid by convincing myself video games weren’t cool.

“Huh.” Leon cocks his head. “So she’s always been kind of controlling?”

I guess I hadn’t thought about it. “Mom thought I should spend my time doing homework instead.” I can’t help but laugh. “You can imagine how mad she was when I dropped out of college.”

Leon shrugs. “I didn’t go to college and I turned out okay.” He leans thoughtfully on one of the claw machines, which is full to bursting with stuffed animals. “There are lots of different paths to take in life.”

I like that outlook. It makes me feel like less of a failure, seeing as he runs his own successful business.

I’m surprised when Leon drops a hand to my thigh, and he runs his thumb over my jeans. “I’m glad we can come here and play games together, then. We’ll train you up real quick.” He jerks his thumb over his shoulder toward a different part of the arcade. “Let’s try some Skee-Ball?”

The longer we play, the closer I find myself getting to Leon—or he’s getting closer to me. Or perhaps we’re gravitating toward each other like magnets, because that’s what this feels like: getting pulled in until I don’t want to leave again. Just being near him, my skin tingles, imagining his touch on me again.

It turns out I’m fantastic at Skee-Ball. I have just the flick of the wrist I need to sink the ball in the middle hole every time, and we win half a roll of tickets. Leon looks at me like I’m a brand-new woman as we head to the front counter to take a look at the prizes.

“It’s that hand-eye coordination,” he says, mostly to himself. “Dang. I bet you’d be killer at Frisbee.”

The attendant looks bored when Leon approaches, all smiles.

“Teddy bear or Nerf gun?” he asks me, counting up the tickets. “Or you could buy a dozen of those ring pops.”

“Ring pop,” I answer instantly, and Leon snorts as he hands the tickets over.

“Get the lady every ring pop I can afford,” he says in an imperious tone.

Once I’ve got a whole armful, Leon takes my free hand. He uses it to draw me closer to him, until we’re almost touching, and leans down.

“Tiff.” I’ve never thought my name sounded sexy until now, until Leon says it that way. He reaches under my chin and tilts it up, so I’m staring right into those bright blue eyes. His mouth is just inches away from mine now, and I think...

I think he wants to kiss me.

“Leon,” I answer cheekily, and he laughs. I roll onto the balls of my feet, so we’re even closer together, hoping that he’s feeling the same thing I am, this warm electricity between us.

In response, he presses his lips against mine.

I’m surprised to find Leon’s touch is tentative and uncertain. So I kiss him back harder, showing him what I want: more. His arm tightens around my waist and then, suddenly, his tongue is tracing the seam of my lips. I let him inside, and as he slips into my mouth, he grunts in approval. I get sucked up into the whirlwind of his kiss, floating in it as our tongues weave around each other. Every single thing vanishes in that moment—my mom, Mr. Bosley, all the ways in which I don’t feel right for this world.

Damn, he’s a good kisser.

“A- hem ,” says a voice, and we instantly pull apart. The clerk is tapping a finger on the counter in annoyance. He gestures at the kids playing a shooting game nearby, who are unabashedly staring at us.

“What would you like to do next?” Leon asks me, steering us into a dark booth meant for playing a zombie game. “Because we could stay here and have a milkshake, or get a drink and talk all night. Or...”

The muscles in my abdomen clench at that or .

“Or what?” I ask, my voice coming out a squeak.

He arches one eyebrow. “Or we could leave.”

“And go where?” I don’t know why I ask the question when I already know the answer by the goofy, eager look on Leon’s face.

“What if we went to your place?” He smooths his thumb across the back of my hand. “Then it’s on your turf. You can do whatever you want, and you can ask me to leave whenever you need.”

I live in a small, one-bedroom apartment on the third floor that’s nothing to look at. The paint is peeling, and the water pressure is garbage. But taking Leon back there, where we can be alone, is marvelously attractive.

“Okay,” I say finally, and Leon lights up. “No judging, though. It’s the cheapest rent I could find.”

He guides me to the exit, his fingers finally sliding down to cup my ass as we head outside. “I’ll be much too preoccupied to notice.”

Out front, while I open my car door, Leon stops at a motorcycle parked two spaces over. “I’ll follow you.”

Why am I not surprised by the fact this incredibly hot guy also drives a motorcycle?

I get in my car and head back to my place, turning over in my mind what might happen next. What do I want to happen next?

My thrill at having Leon following me home, so we can be alone in my apartment together, begins to morph. What if once he gets me undressed, he doesn’t like what he sees? My hands clench tighter around the wheel. What if I’m not good in bed, because it’s been too long? I stopped trying to online date last year, and I’m probably out of practice.

What if, what if?

By the time we reach the parking lot, my breaths are coming faster and I wonder if this is really a good idea. Leon might be here for one thing, just like Chris, just like all those other assholes before him. I’m great for a one-night stand, for getting your fill of tits and ass. Maybe Leon showed me a good time and treated me like a princess only so he could get my clothes off, and then he doesn’t intend to call again.

And Jace! I met Jace first. Now I’m standing outside my apartment with some other guy—his brother .

I head to the stairs that lead up to the third floor, while Leon hangs his helmet off the handlebars of his bike. Briefly, I consider texting Jace again. Does he know? What if he’s disgusted when he hears I slept with Leon?

I must be showing what I’m feeling plain on my face, because Leon’s expression falls as he approaches me.

“Having second thoughts?” he asks, rubbing a hand down my shoulder. “It’s okay if you’re not ready yet.”

The words are so genuine that it makes my heart swell up. Someone like Leon... I don’t think he’s going to one-and-done me. Not after tonight.

“I’m ready,” I say, putting as much certainty into it as I can.

His grin is wide and exuberant. He curls his arm around my hip and pulls me into him, and I’m surprised to find a lump in his jeans press against my thigh.

“God. You smell so good.” He lowers his head to my hair and brings in a deep whiff. “So fucking good.”

His hands are wandering, and I want even more of them. When I look up, I find Leon staring at me with a feral intensity. He leans down, keeping his eyes on me, and pauses with his mouth an inch away from mine.

It’s an invitation, and one I’ll happily accept. I need to touch more of him, to feel his hands on my bare skin.

So I kiss him. I kiss him hard, because damn, I want him. I want to let myself want him, and be wanted back. His arms wind tighter around my waist as he kisses me, slow but firm, then his hand trails down to my ass. I gasp when he squeezes it, and his kiss deepens even more.

Then, suddenly, Leon pulls away. He gestures at the stairs.

“Lead the way,” he says, his voice deeper than before.

I’m unsteady on my feet as I go up the stairs and put the key in the lock. It takes me a few tries, but then we’re inside, and Leon already has me tangled up in his arms. He kicks the door closed, my keys still in the knob, and kisses me again. It’s much wilder this time, his mouth taking my lips like a conqueror. His tongue darts out and sweeps across them, and without thinking twice, I greet it with mine. Leon grips me tight, his fingers digging into my thick flesh as he swallows me up. The way he invades my mouth, it makes me think of his cock doing the same thing elsewhere, and I squirm in his hands, my hips grinding against his.

“You like it when I kiss you that way?” he asks, giving me a knowing grin. “I can kiss you like that other places, too.”

I tremble at the suggestion. I want that, more than anything. His talented mouth all over me? Yes, please. But I’m not even sure where to start with someone as absolutely magnificent as Leon.

He squeezes even more of me, roving over all my mounds and curves with eagerness.

“You’re still tense, though.” His lips travel from my lips to my cheek, then to my ear. “What’s wrong?”

I shiver, not sure I can tell him what’s truly on my mind. But I think about how he listened as I talked about my mom, how he didn’t judge me for what I feel. Maybe it’s okay to peel back my armor and let him see me.

“I don’t want to disappoint you,” I say at last. “What if I mess it up? What if I’m not any good?” I swallow hard as all of it spills out of me. “Usually I know what to do. I know how to get coffee and use QuickBooks. But this...” I wave a hand at him. “I’ve had such a great time tonight, and I don’t want to ruin it.”

He reacts with a thoughtful nod. “I think I understand.” He smooths a comforting hand down my back. “But all you have to be with me is you. Your whole self.” It’s easy to submerge myself in him as he brings me in close and tucks my head under his chin. “Why don’t you let me take a load off your shoulders for one night? I can guide you.”

But the load is so heavy, and so closely bound to me, I can’t imagine he could carry it. Yet all I want is to let go, to stop worrying about where this might end up, for someone else to take the reins.

“Trust me,” Leon murmurs, looking down into my eyes, “and I won’t lead you wrong. I promise, Tiff.”

Something about the words loosens a tight wire inside me. It would be nice to let it go, I think. To not worry every step of the way.

“Okay,” I say at last. “Show me what to do.”

I feel him smile against my cheek as I relax into his arms. “There we go.” He sucks on my earlobe as his hand roams back up to the swell of my breast. “Now take off your clothes and let me worship you.”