Fitz doesn’t show me his face long enough for me to get a read. He returns to my ear. “I’m sorry.”

I realize I still have one hand resting on his collarbone, and more, he’s got his fingers spread across the top of my ass. “Why?” The seconds of silence that follow are punctuated by my pulse as I wait for his answer.

“Boundaries.” The tip of his nose brushes against my neck, the deep inhale he takes marked by the expansion of his chest beneath my hand. “Got carried away.”

Right. Me too. The thing is, I’m still being carried away—by his smell, his lingering taste, his closeness. So I do the right thing—I slide off his lap and slink to the opposite side of the table, adjusting my shirt that’s ridden up in the back.

This time, I take the full, untouched beer. “Blondes?” I ask. “Brunettes?” I realize I’m still wearing his hat, so I tug it off and extend my arm to place it back on his head.

Fitz sips his beer and shrugs, his eyes focusing more on the table.

“Oh, come on,” I say. “You have to⁠—"

“I’ve just always been into that girl next door.”

“Type. You meant girl-next-door type.” I take a large pull from the glass because there’s something hypnotizing about the green swirls in the center of Fitz’s eyes. “I didn’t really get a feel for her though,” I say, lifting my head and looking for Nellie-with-the-name-tag. “Maybe she’s the girl-next-door type.”

I take another drink, and it’s at that moment, as I bring it to my mouth, that a larger party walks in, their voices booming and surrounding us. I hardly make out Fitz’s voice, but my stomach flutters when I hear enough.

“Maybe she’s also the wrong girl.”

Chapter 15

Oh. Oh, I fucked up. I really fucked up.

An easy tell would be the fact that I never leave a wing behind, but suggested we abandon the basket of buffalo chicken as soon as it was clear Parker was done eating. But the real sign of just how much I messed up came from my lap beneath the table.

Either Parker didn’t realize how I was more than half hard after I broke off the kiss, or she was too terrified to point it out. I’m going with former, considering I’ve never known Parker to shy away from anything.