Hit the Wall (Blythe College) by Rochelle Paige Page B

little worried that maybe he had picked somewhere fancy where I would look out of place. I felt sexy in my outfit, but I hadn’t picked it with a super nice restaurant in mind. It was easy to forget that he came from money since he didn’t act like it. “Where are we going? Am I dressed okay for it?”
    “No, you’re not dressed okay,” he answered and my heart dropped. “You look fucking amazing. So beyond okay that I’ll have to stick close to you all night just to make sure that other guys know you’re with me.”
    I couldn’t stop myself from beaming at his compliment. He was damn good at this. It was hard to remember that most guys would say just about anything to score. “I’m not sure if I should trust you,” I said as we walked to his truck. “Are you being genuine, or are you just putting on an act to get so you can get me into bed?”
    Jackson stopped and turned to me so that he could stare straight in my eyes as he answered my question. “One thing you can be damn sure about, Kaylie, is that I won’t ever lie to you. What you see is what you get with me, okay?” he asked. When I nodded that I understood, he continued. “I know this might piss you off because it makes me sound like a douche, but I don’t need to put on an act if I want a piece of ass. The real kind. Not the drink. If that’s all I was interested in, there are other girls on campus who would give it up if I looked their way. No need for dinner. No compliments on how they look.”
    I pulled away from him a little, but he wouldn’t let me get far. “You’re right. That does make you sound like a douche because that’s exactly what you used to be interested in. How could I possibly think that I’m any different to you than all those girls? That if I decide to let this thing between us run its course that you won’t disappear the second the sheets get cold?”
    “You’re already different. I’ve never taken any of them to dinner. I sure as shit didn’t bring them flowers or think about what I was going to wear if I saw them. If that’s not enough for you, then I’ll just have to work harder to convince you that I’m not in this just to get into your panties.”
    “I’m not very good at trusting people to stay around,” I admitted.
    “Neither of us knows what’s going to happen here. We don’t know each other well enough yet. But I do know that I was willing to risk Aubrey’s wrath just by taking you to dinner tonight. She’d have my balls if I banged you and walked away the next morning. That’s one worry you can cross off your list.”
    “You talked to your sister?” I asked, feeling a little better about the night and his intentions if that was true.
    “If by talking you mean that she grilled me, then yes.”
    “Okay,” I whispered and reached up to kiss him on the cheek.
    He wrapped his arms around me to hug me tight. “Right, let’s get date number two started. I’m starving!”
    We made it to the truck, and he bundled me inside before getting in himself. I watched him as he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. It was hard to believe that I was on a date with Jackson. If someone had told me that this would happen a month ago, I would have laughed my ass off at the idea because he was such a player. A week ago, I would have said no way because I couldn’t have imagined him being interested in me. Now, I was just happy to be here with him and a little scared by how he made me feel.
    “So where are you taking me?” I asked since he had not answered the question earlier.
    “How do you feel about Japanese food? I wanted to take you to one of my favorite places. It’s a Teppan grill, but it has sushi too,” he answered, sounding like an excited kid.
    “You’re favorite place, huh?” I teased.
    “Yup. Good food and lots of it. Plus the chefs put on a bit of a show while they’re cooking. My parents used to take us there for my birthday when I was younger, and it’s always been