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her, and one kiss was definitely not going to be enough.
     
    I heard someone clear their throat, bringing me back to where we were. I reluctantly broke the kiss. “Still going to pretend you aren’t interested, Allison?”
     
    She gazed up at me with this dazed expression. I laughed. “I told you to call me Allie.”
     
    “You said everyone calls you Allie. I’m not everyone.” She wasn’t going to be able to keep me at bay. Any chance of staying away from me was over the second my lips touched hers.
     
    “Are you always this frustrating?”
     
    “Depends on who you ask.”
     
    She groaned before setting aside her partially full glass. I followed her back out onto the patio. I was still on a high from the kiss and just trying to come up with the best way to ask her home. She wanted to, but I had the feeling she was still going to resist.
     
    I sat watching her for hours. She seemed so comfortable hanging out with my friends, and she especially seemed to be hitting it off with Hailey. I liked that. Why? Why did I care if a girl I slept with was friends with my roommate’s little sister? Because I wanted her to stick around . The thought hit me like a strike of lightning. Forget a few nights, I wanted this girl longer.
     
    I zoned out most of their conversation, trying to keep my mind off the kiss and the growing bulge in my pants, by discussing college sports with Jared. Eventually, I got pulled back into their conversation. Somehow the topic of action movies had come up.
     
    “Okay, so who would win in a fight, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Stephen Segal, Bruce Lee, or Jackie Chan?” Owen asked.
     
    “Easy, Jean-Claude. I mean he’s hot and bad ass. Can you get any better?” Allie answered animatedly.    
     
    “Wait, so I’m not the only 18-year-old Jean-Claude fan? Nice!” Hailey gave her a high five.
     
    “That’s who you find hot?” I smirked. “But anyway, Owen, you left out Chuck Norris.”
     
    “Please, no. Someone stop Levi from starting in on Chuck Norris. There are only so many of those jokes I can take.” Hailey hit the table with her hand and spilled several of the drinks. For some reason, the girls thought this was funny, and they started cracking up. Allie had a great smile and an even better laugh.
     
    “Wow, is it really 2:30?” She squinted at the face of her watch. She blinked a few times before pulling out a small bottle from her purse and putting in some eye drops. She must have had contacts. I couldn’t relate. I had perfect vision.
     
    “Did you guys drive?” Hailey asked.
     
    “No, we took the streetcar.” Allie yawned.
     
    “Why don’t you guys come back to our place? It’s really late anyhow,” Jared suggested.
     
    “That sounds like a great idea.” Jess ran her hand down Jared’s leg.
     
    Allie didn’t hide her distaste at the idea. I tried not to let that irk me. “I’m sure it does, Jess.”
     
    “I’d have to agree.” I smiled.   She had to be messing with me. There was no way she wanted to go home.  
     
    “I’d invite you guys to crash at my house, but my parents will flip if they see that I’ve been drinking. I’m going to stay over at their place anyway,” Hailey explained.
     
    “You still live at home?” Allie seemed surprised.
     
    “Yeah. I just graduated from high school.”
     
    “Oh, duh. You said you were eighteen. Okay, I’ll stay at their place then.” For some reason, knowing that Hailey was coming made the prospect more appealing to Allie. I’d have to remember to thank Hailey later.
     

Chapter Six
     
    “I knew I’d be taking you home tonight,” I whispered as we walked toward our house. The night was warm, even at the late hour. There was no escaping the heat during the summer in New Orleans. Lucky for me, my body easily adjusted to any temperature. Unfortunately, that self-regulation didn’t apply to the effect Allie had on me. One touch from her had me burning up.
     
      She continued to play hard to