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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 get and shrugged my arm off her shoulder. I laughed. Now that I had the physical evidence of her interest, I wasn’t as worried. That kiss had spoken volumes. She wanted me, and she wanted me bad.
    I unlocked the front door, ushering Allie in before following closely behind her. She gazed around our living room as Jared led a giggling Jess down the hall to his room. Allie made a face when she noticed it out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t try to stop her friend, but I sensed she wanted to. My guess is she was used to Jess’ behavior. The girl wasn’t drunk. Jared wasn’t a complete asshole. We both had the same rule when it came to women. If they weren’t sober enough to completely consent, then we let them go. There were plenty of girls to go around. Except I didn’t feel that way that night. I didn’t want anyone but Allie.
    Allie seemed uptight. She took a seat on one of the leather couches, keeping her legs pressed firmly together. I wondered if the position was intentional, or if it was her subconscious attempt at resisting me. I sat down right next to her. I needed to put her at ease. She seemed most comfortable when I hit on her. I decided to go with it.
    She blinked and yawned silently.
    “You are more than welcome to sleep in my bed.” I put my feet up on the circular ottoman.
    “As tempting as that offer is, I’ll take my chances out here.” She took off her flip-flops and curled her legs up on the couch under her. I fought the urge to pull her legs onto my lap. I’d have given her a foot rub if she’d wanted one. I’m definitely not a foot guy, but every part of Allie seemed worth exploring.
    “Wow, Levi, you’ve never offered to let me take your bed before.” Hailey feigned hurt.
    “And I’ll never offer you my bed. If you don’t want to sleep on the couch, talk to your brother, or better yet, go home.”
    “Aww, you are