“Hey, that kept you talking to me for a solid couple of minutes. Better than getting shot down out of the gate.”

“Pretty sure I did shoot you down,” I said, squeezing his leg. “You just kept talking. And talking.”

“Which worked, because you fell for my charm.”

Cocky bastard. Hot, cocky bastard. Yet he wasn’t totally wrong.

“I believe my words to Zara and Noelle were something like ‘he’s a hot jerk.’”

“You also threatened to stab me with a cocktail stirrer.” He smirked. “And yet you came back.”

“True. But with the number of metaphors you threw out on the spot, I should have known you had a dirty mind.”

He lowered his voice, his eyes raking over me and leaving a trail of heat across my body in their wake.

“When it comes to you? The dirtiest.”

I bit my bottom lip. “Yeah? Prove it.”

“Famous last words, James.”

46. the filthiest

CHAPTER 46

THE FILTHIEST

Bailey

At some point during the drive back to my place, the mood shifted from playful to solemn. Something was weighing on Chase’s mind, and whatever it was could probably explain his multiple altercations in the game earlier tonight. I was tempted to ask, but when he was reticent like this, prying wouldn’t get me anywhere, so I held out.

After a few minutes of silence, Chase spoke up. “Have you talked to Derek lately?” He signaled and pulled onto my street. The veins in his forearms bulged as his hold on the steering wheel tightened. Suddenly, he was tense, and now I was too. We rarely discussed my brother, for obvious reasons.

“About what?”

“I met with him the other day.”

Alarm bells sounded in my head. When Chase was vague about details and slow to get to the point, it was a fishing expedition to determine what I already knew. Which, in this case, was nothing, as I was taken completely by surprise by this revelation.

Though Derek had acted strangely when we last spoke.

“Why did you do that?”

Chase parallel parked against the curb and killed the engine. He unbuckled his seat belt, turning to face me, wearing an unreadable expression. If I had to guess, I might have said he looked nervous, which was a look I was unfamiliar with on him. Chase was always sure of himself, almost always forthcoming.

A wave of uneasiness engulfed me. Please tell me they didn’t have some kind of argument about me or Luke.

He dropped his gaze to the steering wheel, his brow lowered. “I may have loaned him some money.”

“You what?” I stared at him, unblinking. It wasn’t remotely close to anything I expected him to say. “Why am I only hearing about this now?”