Her eyes pop open and she grins. "The only one who does that is my dad."
"Then you've been around the wrong men."
She walks around to the driver's side of the car. I wait on the curb, my hands shoved deep in my pockets to keep from reaching out for her.
Just as she opens the door, she looks over at me. "So, I guess this is goodbye then." She looks as devastated as I feel and I realize that she's feeling this same strong pull. This same sense of recognition. Not like I know her. But like I should know her.
Before I know what I'm doing, I round the car and pull her into my arms. My hand slides under her hair and my mouth settles on hers before she can make a sound. She recovers quickly, pushing up on her tiptoes, her lips opening under mine to accept the soft thrust of my tongue. She tastes so good and the way she's moving against me makes me think of how she'd move if I were inside her. It's madness, this pull between us. I'm not sure if it's because she's off-limits or because she's Sasha. But there's something about this girl that makes me forget myself and all my rules.
I think that I could stand here all night, enjoying the soft, wet warmth of her mouth. But she makes a soft, needy little sound in the back of her throat that accomplishes two things. It makes me hard as a rock and also reminds me where I am. On a street corner in front of my brother's building kissing one of his friends like I'm going to take her right up against the car.
I break the kiss, panting heavily. Sasha grips the collar of my coat, pulling me back down for a final, soft kiss. Our lips meet and cling before I take a step back.
"You can't just go," she whispers.
"I have to."
She looks as perplexed as I feel as she watches me back up. Everything inside of me rebels against the idea of not going after her. I've always been bold about going after what I want but in this case, that's not in either of our best interests. And my desire for her is trumped by my need to protect her.
Fine time for my conscience to show up, I think sarcastically.
"Get in the car, Sasha. Go home. It's for the best, I promise. If I come any closer, we both know what will happen. We'll burn each other up but then it'll be over just as quickly as it started. And the last thing I want to do is hurt you."
Her slender fingers tighten around the top of the car door. "I never thought I'd be saying this but I wish you weren't such a gentleman. Because getting burned up sounds really good right about now."
Her soft words make me want to reconsider my stance. The times we've spent talking have been some of the best times I've had with a woman in a long time. But between all of our friends in common and whatever the hell Luke found out about our father, there's no getting around the fact that this is not meant to be.
"It's for the best if I stay away from you, sweetheart. I promise. You've had enough bad luck."
Then with a quick nod, she slides behind the wheel. I stand on the curb and wait until she drives away.
* * * * *
As soon as Sasha's car disappears, I turn around and almost bump into Finn. "Hey, what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be inside at the party?"
He shakes his head. "I saw you leave with Sasha. That's why I'm here. Let's walk."
I have no choice but to follow. Finn may walk with a cane but he's also an ex-Army badass who can probably take me out without ever once losing his grip on the damn thing. Once we pass his building, I realize he actually means business. More than likely he doesn't want anyone else to come out here and see him chewing my ass out.
"Let me guess, you saw us?"
He shrugs. "It's none of my business. You're both adults. But you know what is my business? When Emma is upset because her friend calls crying after a one-night stand gone wrong."
"What makes you think it would be a one-night stand?"
"Because it's you, Gabe. Sasha is a friend of mine too and she's been a friend to our mother as well. It's none of my business but I'm letting you know that I'll make it my business if I have to."
There it is. I have to admire his ability to make such commonplace words sound so threatening.
"I understand."
"Good, then I should get back." He turns and walks back to the building, leaving me standing in the middle of the sidewalk. I groan and then walk back to my car.
Luke's mother owns a bakery called Anita's Place. When Finn first found out about our tangled family tree, he started coming here for a slice of pie every other day. Once I tried it, I understood why Finn kept coming back. Luke's mom is a wizard in the kitchen.
As soon as I come through the door, Luke motions to one of the waitresses.
"Hey Rory, can you bring him a beer?"
She nods and walks off. I slide into the booth across from Luke. The waitress returns with an opened bottle and places it in front of me. I nod my thanks before taking a long pull.
"You look like you needed that." Luke narrows his eyes. "Who pissed you off?"
I ignore the question in favor of getting right down to the reason I'm here. "What did you find out about those names?"
Luke glances around us then leans forward. "I couldn't find them. I ran every variation of those names I could think of and got nothing. This is big."
"You called me here to tell me you found nothing? How is that helpful?" I'm not in the mood to decipher Luke's strange type of logic.