“You can come, but you’ll be bored,” I said.

He grinned at me. “I don’t think I’ll be bored.”

When the bell rang, we gathered our things and he followed me to the classroom where chess club was held. I sat at a table in front of a chessboard. He pulled out a chair next to me and sat down, scooting it as close to my chair as possible. I hung my bag over the back of my seat and looked at him.

“Is this okay?” he asked me. “If you want me to sit somewhere else, I will.”

“No, this is fine.”

It’s totally not fine! I’m not gonna be able to play with him sitting so close to me, smelling his cologne, feeling his thigh brush against mine. I’m not going be able to concentrate on the game when I’m concentrating on him. I’m so going to lose and embarrass myself.

Tim walked over to me and said, “We have an uneven number of people. Too many people are out sick.”

“I don’t have to play today.” I started picking up my things to leave.

“I’ll play you,” Brody offered.

I glanced up from gathering the game pieces and placing them back in the box. “How long has it been since you’ve played?” I twirled a rook between my fingers.

Brody shrugged. “A while.”

Tim looked at me. “I don’t mind if you don’t mind.”

“I guess so.”

Brody walked around the table and sat down across from me. We set up the pieces on the board. “Your go,” he told me.

I made my first move, and he followed with his move. The game progressed quickly, and I was surprised at how well he played. I beat him the first game, and he beat me the second.

Brody rubbed his hands together and stared at me over the table. “All tied up. Third game’s the tiebreaker. Let’s make it interesting.”

“What did you have in mind?” I leaned forward and tilted my head to the side.

“If I win, you have to go get something to eat with me,” Brody said with a grin.

“And if I win?”

Brody shrugged a shoulder. “What do you want?”

Ohmigosh, if he only knew what I wanted. Things I shouldn’t be wanting. I’m with Jaden. I shouldn’t want kisses from Brody, but that’s exactly what I want.

“I’ll tell you after I win the game, Ace.”

Brody laughed. “Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

“Okay, challenge accepted.”

I spent the whole game trying to figure out what it was I was going to ask for when I won. I was so distracted, I lost the game. Brody was not gracious winner. He laughed and said, “Looks like it’s burger time. I think I’m gonna have a cheeseburger with the works, and a chocolate milkshake. Maybe two. Oh, and onion rings. Can’t forget the onion rings.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help but grin. Secretly, I was glad he’d won. I really wanted to spend time with him, but I wasn’t going to examine my reasons why too closely. I shouldn’t want to go get a burger with Brody, but I did. More than anything

“Just out of curiosity, what would you have asked for if you would’ve won?” Brody asked.

I smiled and winked at him. “I’ll never tell.”

“Ugh, you’re such a tease.”

“Let’s just say, you should have let me win.”

Brody groaned.

We gathered our things and walked out to the student parking lot. Brody unlocked the door of his Jeep and held it open for me to get in. I felt a little awkward. Jaden never held the door open for me and we were freakin’ dating—sort of.

“Thanks,” I said, climbing into the Jeep. I watched Brody in the side mirror as he walked around the back. He twirled his keys around his fingers on one hand, the other tucked in his jeans pocket. “So, where do you want to go? The Dive?” I asked when he got in the Jeep.

“No, I didn’t think you’d want to go to The Dive.” He put the keys in the ignition and angled his body toward me. “I know we’re going as friends, but your boyfriend doesn’t seem the type to allow you to have guy friends. The Dive is going to be full of people from school. Someone will tell Jaden we were together.”

I looked out the window and blew out a breath. “Um…”

“Hey, it’s okay. I know a little place not too far away. I doubt anyone from school would be caught dead there. At least, no one in your social circle.”

I swung my gaze back to his. “I don’t have a social circle.”

“No? Are you sure about that?”

“No. I mean, yes, I’m sure. I hate that people assume just because I date Jaden, I belong to a certain clique. Did you already forget I’m a member of the chess club? One of my best friends is the captain of the club? I fit in more with him than I do with any of Jaden’s friends.” I shoved my things to the floor of the Jeep with a frustrated breath. “I don’t know why I’m even bothering to explain myself to you. It’s not like it matters what you think. Let’s just go and get this over with.” I fell back against the seat and stared out the side window. Suddenly, the idea of going anywhere with him lost its appeal.

“Hmm, and I wouldn’t know anything about stereotypes, huh? I’m just the bad boy, man-whore of Cassidy High,” he murmured.

I turned to face him, and his sapphire gaze locked onto mine. “I guess you were judged before you even stepped foot in school,” I whispered. He didn’t answer, but his gaze held mine captive. I lay my hand on his arm and skimmed my fingers over his skin. “I’m sorry. I was one who judged you, and I’m sorry.”

He didn’t answer me for a long time. The silence stretched between us, awkward and uncomfortable. I fought the urge to squirm in my seat. And then he did something that caught me completely off guard and threw me totally off balance. Brody took my hand from his arm, turned it over, and kissed the inside of my wrist, letting his warm, soft lips linger against my skin just a moment longer than necessary for a normal kiss. But it was no normal kiss. It was a silky whisper caress of his lips across my skin that sent my body into a frenzy.

I sucked in a breath. My insides did all sorts of weird things. Forget butterflies, I had balls bouncing around my stomach—bounding from one side to the other, hitting the wall and springing back again. My heart beat so hard it hurt and if someone had asked me about Jaden, I would have said, “Who?” Not good, not good at all. And so very dangerous.

I slowly pulled my hand away, still looking into his eyes. “Just friends, remember?” My voice was barely a whisper.

“That was my just-friends kiss. If it was my kiss for more than friends, we wouldn’t be talking right now.” He turned and started the Jeep.

I let out the breath I was holding and tried not to think about the more-than-friends kisses he would give.

Houston, I definitely have a problem.

We drove in silence for about five minutes when Brody pulled into a small, gravel parking lot. I looked around. “This is a bar,” I said. “They’re not going to let us in here.”

“Don’t worry. My aunt owns the place. She makes the best burgers in town. Makes The Dive’s look like dog food… and her milkshakes? Don’t even get me started.”

We walked into the small, white building. It was much larger than it looked from the outside, and it wasn’t at all what I thought a bar would look like. It wasn’t dark and smoky inside. It was light, without being too bright. And the smell of burgers filled the air, not the smell of cigarettes and stale beer like I expected. A large, square bar sat in the middle of the room with bar stools surrounding it. Booths lined the left wall and tables were scattered throughout the remaining area, with the exception of the right side of the room, which was full of pool tables, a couple of air hockey tables, and arcade games.

Brody took my hand and pulled me gently with him as he made his way to the back of the building where a small counter was located. A petite woman, who couldn’t have been much taller than five feet, greeted him with a broad smile.

“Hey, Brody! Whatcha up to today?”