Middle Ground Read Online Free PDF Page B

a nice ring to it,” he said. “Speaking of protesting, we can walk away from this pretty easily, maybe with just a fine, if you’d at least attempt to look sorry.”
    I tapped my foot on the floor and considered this. I could smell his leather jacket. I could hear it wrinkle every time he moved. I looked down at his hands, just visible under the cuffs. The sooner they let us go, the sooner I could touch him. That was definitely motivation. “They won’t call the police?” I asked.
    He shook his head. “These kinds of clubs let underage kids in all the time—so they can’t call the police; they could get their license suspended. They’re just trying to scare us.” He took a step closer to me. “So, do me a favor,” he said. “No more arguing. Just suck it up and say you’re sorry.”
    “But they have nothing on me,” I said, testing him. “It could have been a computer virus, even hacked in from an outside source, and since I’m sure the hard drives are all connected—”
    “Maddie,” he said, and just the sound of my name from his lips made me smile. “We’re arguing with a bar manager. Suck it up and admit defeat this time. You’ve got to choose your battles once in a while.”
    I looked down at the ground and pouted. He did have a point. “Fine,” I said. “I just have issues about backing down.”
    He pressed his finger under my chin and lifted my face toward his. He smiled and it made his dimples stand out. All the reasons to argue drained away.
    “Did I mention your rebellious streak is a huge turn-on?” he asked, and I managed to shake my head. He brushed my hair back, behind my shoulders, and his eyes seemed to ask me something. Then, slowly, he lowered his head and touched his lips to mine. I grabbed his waist and pulled him closer but we were interrupted again. Heavy footsteps stomped outside the office door and Justin lowered his head farther until his lips were warm on my neck. He ran his hands down my back. We could hear Trey and the manager arguing on the other side of the wall.
    My heart was going to explode if there was one more distraction. I untangled myself from his arms and crossed the room and grabbed the manager’s stack of keycards off the desk. I examined the control panel next to the door and I saw it was the same security system my parents used at home. I scanned the manager’s card and started to reprogram the commands.
    First, I dead-bolted the doors. While I was at it, I reprogrammed the controls for the water sprinklers, the fire alarm, and the emergency lights.
    “You have an interesting way of apologizing,” Justin noted.
    I shrugged. “If I’m already in trouble, I might as well have some fun,” I said. “Besides, technically it’s Rebecca Riggs’s fault.” I threw the keys on the floor. “Finally, we have some privacy.”
    Neither of us hesitated this time. He grabbed my face firmly in his hands and pressed his lips hard against mine. He wasn’t soft or careful or slow. This kiss was heated, like he was making up for lost time. I fell against him and he backed up until we hit the couch on the side wall of the office.
    Voices shouted outside and someone must have tried to open the door because it set off the fire alarms. A repetitive wail filled the room and the lights blinked on and off, but we ignored it and fell onto the couch. He pulled me on top of him and held my face in his hands, but he didn’t kiss me. He just drank me in.
    “Oh, damn it!” we heard the manager scream.
    Trey and the manager shouted over the wailing siren, and Justin sighed and looked at the door. Even in all the commotion, I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to break this moment. He ran his fingers over my lips.
    We could hear pounding and yelling and someone turned the door handle, which set off the overhead sprinklers. They snapped on and a steady shower rained over us. Justin grabbed my hand and pulled me off the couch.
    “Was this really necessary?” he yelled