Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Bennett set his beer down and lifted up a fry. “Picking up a french fry.”
He raised it to his mouth. “Raising it to my lips.”
I chuckled. “God, you’re a jerk.”
He wiggled the fry at me. “You’re smiling, aren’t you?”
I sighed. “Yeah. I guess I am. Thank you.”
“Anytime, Texas. I’m here for your amusement for the next few months.” He winked. “Before they ship your ass off to Dallas.”
A minute later, a couple appeared at our table. It took us both a minute to realize what had happened. Bennett had winked at me, and some couple took that as their invitation.
***
“Have you ever stolen anything?”
Bennett asked me the question just as the waitress came over to check on us. He ordered another beer, and I asked for an ice water. It was his fourth or fifth—I’d lost count. Since he’d decided his car was staying parked outside overnight, and I was driving him home, he’d made good use of being free to indulge a bit.
The waitress stood next to our table, looking at me rather than going to grab our order. I thought perhaps she had been waiting for the rest of my order, so I smiled politely. “I’m good. Just the water for me.”
She smiled back. “Oh, I’ll grab that beer and water in a jiffy. I’m just waiting to hear your answer to his question.”
Bennett laughed. “She looks like she could’ve been a thief, right? Innocent enough face, but there’s a little spark in her eye. Not to mention the wild hair.”
“I stole a box of condoms once,” the waitress offered. “It wasn’t too long ago, either. I was in the drug store, and my mom walked up in line behind me. I had shampoo and Trojans. I slipped the condoms into my pocket to hide them and let her go first, hoping I could take them out after she was gone. But she waited for me. I’m twenty-two years old, but we’re Catholic, and she’s very religious. The choice was to either break her heart or go to jail for petty theft. I risked it.”
Bennett grinned. God, he had a damn sexy smile. “I stole a box of condoms once, too. I was fourteen and broke, and a hot seventeen-year-old girl invited me over. Didn’t get caught, but did lose my virginity. Totally worth the risk.” He raised his chin to me and wiggled his eyebrows. “Did you steal condoms, or just lube?”
“I never stole anything.” I felt my face heat, and Bennett pointed at me. “Holy shit. You’re turning red—you’re lying. You’re a klepto, aren’t you?”
Unfortunately for me, over the course of the evening, Bennett had discovered my weakness. I suck at lying. Every time I told a lie, my face would flush, or I’d divert my eyes and fidget. As the number of beers he drank increased, he’d created a little game—The Texas Truth. He’d ask me a question, and I’d try to lie about some answers—hence his question about stealing. So far, he’d nailed me on every lie.
I looked at the amused waitress. “I was nine, and I really, really wanted the new ‘N Sync CD. So I sort of put it down my pants when my mom wasn’t looking.”
“Niiiice,” Bennett said.
The waitress laughed. “I’ll be right back with your beer.”
When she was gone, he, of course, wanted more details. “Did you get caught?”
“No. But by the time I got to the car, I’d started crying because I felt guilty. I admitted what I’d done to my mom, and she made me go back into the store and give the CD to the manager. He called the cops, who gave me an hour-long lecture, just to scare me some more.”
“You know I have a strong urge to change your nickname from Texas after hearing that story, right?”
“To what?”
“Snatch. But I already have problems with HR, so I don’t think me yelling Hey, Snatch down the hall would go over too well.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You’re a pig.”
The waitress brought our drinks, and he took a long swig from his beer. “When was the last time you actually told a lie?”
I knew the answer to that question without having to think about it. But there was no way I was sharing that story with Bennett. “It’s been a long time.”
I felt my face heat.
Damn it.
He saw it and chuckled. “Spill your guts, Texas.”
“If I tell you, you have to promise you’ll never make fun of me for it, or even bring it up again.”
“Who me? Never.”
“Give me your word.”
He held up three fingers like a boy scout. “You have my word.”
I knew before I started talking that it was a bad idea to share my story with him, yet I was having fun and wasn’t ready to call it a night.
“Fine. But when I’m done, I want a story I can torture you about. Something embarrassing.”