Jack Hammer by Tabatha Vargo, Melissa Andrea Read Free Book Online

going out together is a joke?” he asked.
    I expected to see the usual smartass smirk on his face, but it wasn’t there. Instead, insecurity moved into his expression. It never occurred to me that Blaine might have any doubts about what we were doing. He always seemed so cool and collected. He was always so sure of himself.
    I smiled.
    It was nice to see this side of him—the side where he wasn’t completely closed off.
    His eyes moved over my face, and his perfectly shaped brows pulled down in confusion.
    “I don’t know what that smile means, Little Doe.”
    “No,” I finally said.
    “No?”
    “I don’t think anything’s a joke, Blaine.”
    “Good.” It was his turn to smile.
    I let him think I didn’t notice his slight exhale. He’d been holding his breath. It made me feel special that I seemed important to him in some way. Especially since deep down, I knew no girl had ever been special to Blaine. He was a first for me. My first kiss. My first date. But I was starting to think I was a first for him, as well.
    “Can we still go out? I know it’s late, but—”
    I was nodding my head before he could finish, and his grin stretched across his handsome face.
    “What would you like to do?” he asked.
    I frowned.
    I had no idea how to answer his question. “Um… I don’t know. What do you usually do on dates?”
    “I don’t date, so I don’t have a usual. And even if I did, I wouldn’t do the same thing with you.”
    Heat warmed my cheeks. “Why not?”
    He shrugged. “Because you’re different.”
    “Well, I’ve never been on a date before,” I confessed.
    His eyes widened. “Never?”
    “Nope. You’re my first official date.”
    “Was I your first kiss, too?” The side of his lips lifted into the grin I was slowly starting to love.
    I wasn’t sure how he knew he was my first kiss. The only conclusion I came to was I sucked at kissing, but still, I nodded my answer and looked away embarrassed.
    His fingers caressed my chin as he turned my face toward his.
    His pale, blue eyes went dark. “I want to be your first for a lot of things.” He smoothed the hair beside my cheek down, and tucked it sweetly behind my ear.
    His words made me blush. Heat moved over my cheeks and down my neck. I swallowed hard before I found my voice.
    “Well, technically you stole the kiss and bartered for this date,” I pointed out, ignoring the idea of giving him my virginity.
    He only grinned bigger. “Don’t expect it to always be like that. From this point on, I’ll only take what you freely give.”
    Heat warmed the pit of my stomach and my reaction scared me. I steered our conversation back on track.
    “I’m trying to decide how I should feel that you don’t have a plan for tonight.”
    He chuckled as he threw his hands up.
    “Hey, I thought I was being a gentleman by letting you decide.”
    I looked at him doubtfully. “You? A gentleman?”
    “You don’t think it’s possible? Or are you saying you like it when I play the bad boy?”
    “Is that all it is? A part you play?”
    “Maybe some of it, but most of it’s written in my DNA. What can I say? I’m a tiger who can’t lose his stripes.” Again, he ran his fingers through my hair, his knuckle brushing my cheek. “So what’ll it be, Little Doe? Do you want a normal teenage date or do you want an adventure?”
    He smirked down at me, daring me with his eyes to do something adventurous.
    I bit my lip.
    An adventure with Blaine sounded illicit and dangerous. It was unknown and everything I usually stayed far away from. My heart was beating hard with a steady cadence as something only Blaine could give me flowed through my system.
    Excitement. Exhilaration. Anticipation.
    Before I could change my mind, I asked. “What exactly did you have in mind on this adventure?”
     

 
    6
    BLAINE
     
     
    “COME ON, LITTLE DOE . I don’t feel like getting arrested tonight,” I joked.
    I turned and waited as she moved up the cracked, concrete