All For You (Boys of the South) Read Online Free PDF Page B

forms a
little O. “But this isn’t a real date.”
    It is for me. “Stop
worrying so much. I’m great with parents.”
    “I bet you
are.” She scowls at me. “If my dad knew the truth about
what you did to me, you wouldn’t be allowed in my house.”
    “Tell him,
then,” I challenge. “If Ted wants to beat the shit out of
me for what I did to his little girl, I won’t stop him.”
    She jerks out of my
grip, running ahead of me and tossing over her shoulder, “It’s
Mr. Walsh to you.”
    In less than five
minutes, I exchanged small talk, have my manhood threatened, and open
the car door for McKenzie while Mr. Walsh watches, beer in one hand
and shotgun in the other.
    He waves it at us as
I back out of the drive.
    All in all, a
pretty good first meeting as McKenzie’s date.
    “I should have
told him,” she grumbles.
    “Probably.”
I shift gears and turn up the music at little.
    “He might have
actually put bullets in his gun.”
    I glance at her. “It
wasn’t loaded?”
    “Did you see
him point it at you?”
    “No.”
    “Then it
wasn’t loaded. You only aim at what you plan on killing,
remember?” she says, like I should know anything about guns.
    “Sorry, they
didn’t teach that in my Guide
to Guns for Gangbangers .”
    A sharp intake of
breath and her hand actually covers mine. “I didn’t mean
to imply that because you’re… you’re—”
    “I was
kidding.”
    “You were?”
    “Seriously,
McKenzie, drop it. I thought you meant it as an insult to my lack of
red neck, not my ethnicity.”
    This time McKenzie
snorts. “Well, you are a city boy.”
    I brake for a red
light and turn to her, leaning over the console in the middle. “Baby,
there are lots of things this city boy could teach a country girl
like you.”
    “Like how to
speak Spanish?”
    I slip the pad of my
thumb over her bottom lip. “What would you want to say?” Please
be something really dirty ,
I silently beg.
    “The light is
green.”
    “Oh yeah—”
My nose scrunches up on one side. “Huh?” That’s not
dirty at all. A car honks its horn behind us and she busts out
laughing.
    I hit the gas,
unable to keep the grin off my face, because if she’s laughing,
she’s having a good time… and that means I’m
winning.

    ***   ***   ***

    McKenzie
    I’m actually
having a good time with West as we drive through downtown
Forrestville.
    “Where are we
going for dinner?”
    “Where ever
you want.” He shifts from second to third, and I sink back into
the leather seats. It feels surreal to ride in his car, to be with
him on a date, no matter how fake I think it is. He’s so
casual about it, while I can’t stop thinking someone will
spring from the back of his car and throw me out.
    “Tanaka’s.”
    I watch his reaction
carefully. A small smile plays on his sexy mouth, and if I could see
the other side, his dimple would be visible. “Sounds great.
I’ll call ahead.” While he makes the call, I turn to
stare out the window. His answer wasn’t what I expected. I
thought he’d say no and pick a different place.
    Besides having no
privacy, because we’ll be seated with at least six other
people, Tanaka’s is one of the most popular restaurants in
Forrestville. Everyone goes there.
    The Japanese
Steakhouse has been open for as long as I’ve lived here, and
there are three more in Charlotte. Of course, one of West’s
friend’s parents owns it, and of course, they live in the same
neighborhood. All but one of West’s friends lives in The Oaks.
It’s like rich, preppy kids attract other rich, preppy kids.
    Maybe it’s in
the water. Whatever it is, I’m not drinking or buying anything
West’s offering.
    “You look
good,” he says, pulling me from my thoughts. “I like the
boots.”
    I glance down at my
shoes. “They’re my favorite pair.”
    “Why’s
that?”
    Oh crap. I’ve
just entered small talkville. I do not want to make small talk with
him. Small talk leads to later-in-the-night inside