Hidden Scars by Amanda K. Byrne Read Free Book Online

gaze flitted to her mouth, lingered there, fingers flexing on her elbows. What would
his
kisses be like? Warm and sweet, like Nate’s? Harder? He’d take control, she decided. Taylor did everything with certainty. He’d kiss the same way.
           And if he didn’t stop staring at her mouth, she’d find out before she was ready.
           She shook her head, widening her eyes as her vision swam and blurred. Shit. Maybe she should eat dinner before heading home. Otherwise she might miss her stop. “Wow. Okay, yeah, I definitely need some more food.”
           One side of his mouth quirked up. “Come on. There’s a place around here that’s got good burgers.”
           She waited to see what he’d do next. Stay close, a hand at her back, or on her arm? Or would he back off, give her space? Did she
want
space?
           Yes. No. Yes. Space was good. She liked space.
           He went for the hand at her back, waiting until she proved she was steady on her feet. She struggled with the sense of loss as it fell away, careful not to brush into any inappropriate touching areas. She wished for a second he
would
touch her in an inappropriate area. Her breath caught in her lungs as an image of him grabbing her hips and yanking her up on her toes burned itself into her brain.
           Horribly, horribly inappropriate.
           Screw dinner, she should have gone home. It was too late now. Backing out would be rude, and he’d been nothing but polite. Friendly, even. Maybe, possibly, sorta kinda interested. If he was, she’d never find out by leaving.
           A few blocks later, he pulled open the door to what had to be one of the seediest dive bars in the neighborhood, the windows barred and scratched, the brick face of the building scuffed and tagged in a few places. The door itself, a heavy wood creation, looked like it had been beaten into submission with a battering ram a few times.
           The inside, while dark, was surprisingly clean. She followed him to a booth in the corner. It seemed to be his thing, wherever he was, to find the least conspicuous place in the room. Once she was seated, he got up again and walked over to the bar, returning after a brief conversation with the bartender.
           Her phone jangled in her purse. She fumbled through the depths to pull out the offending device. A glimpse of the read-out told her it was Megan, most likely calling to confirm their plans for tomorrow. “Do you mind if I take this?” She pointed to her phone. At his nod, she hit Accept. “Yo.”
           “Hey. We on for tomorrow?”
           They were meeting a few other friends for a roller derby match. “Yeah. Meeting at four, right?”
           “Yeah. Probably going out for drinks after. And I’ve got someone I’d like you to meet.” Megan’s voice took on a sly hint, and Sara bit off a groan.
           “Great! Looking forward to it.” She’d rather eat glass. She said goodbye and hit End, then shut off the phone and stuffed it in her purse.
           Her friends, for the most part, didn’t push when she said she wasn’t interested in anything serious, man-wise. Every so often, though, one of them would get it into her head to try and change her mind by introducing her to some nice, cute man she had absolutely zero interest in getting to know.
           She couldn’t bring herself to talk about Sam, or the damage he’d done. She’d worked too hard to put it behind her, and she really didn’t want it coloring how they saw her.
           She pushed her hair back behind one ear, eyeing the burger doubtfully as it was placed in front of her. “Sorry about that. Been trying to plan this thing for a few weeks.” She picked up the burger and bit in, stifling a moan of pleasure. It was delicious, juicy, tender, and thick enough she could push down on it with her fingers. “Rose City Rollers. You should come.”