Bea tried really hard not to snort and make some comment about Brandon sounding like a middle schooler or high schooler with their first real crush, because things could so easily be reversed and she could be the one admitting that shit. “It just kind of snuck up on me,” she admitted. “One day you were just the jackass who worked security, then…” she trailed off, only wanting to feel so exposed, even though it had been pretty much confirmed that there was something there. The thought that he was lying had never even crossed her mind; she’d always thought he had more integrity than that.
Why had she even asked that? Probably because against her better judgment she wanted to know where they stood. “Yeah, I fucking follow,” she confirmed with a nod. “And a lot of people are fucking idiots with their heads up their asses.” Then it felt like the bottom dropped out of the conversation. Maybe it was the pessimist in her, but she didn’t think that he’d actually tell her he’d be willing to see just how badly they could fuck things up. Okay, so maybe that hadn’t been exactly what he meant, but that was the only way it could end, right?
It took her a second to regain the ability to speak, and god, that probably didn’t help the situation any. “You don’t know the level of fucked I can reach,” she countered, though it lacked vehemence, and anyone who knew how to read her even a little would be able to tell she was just saying it to say it. She really didn’t want to think about what kind of damage she might actually be capable of, because giving it any real thought only made her less likely to want to give the mysterious whatever between her and Brandon a chance. God, she really wanted to give it a chance. Even if it went up in flames.
When the hell had she become that girl?
“Shut up,” she told him as she wrapped Ada’s leash around her wrist and stepped into his space. “Just let me…” she began as she curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, taking a chance at making an idiot of herself. “I’m not saying yes or no ‘til I got one thing answered,” she told him, purposely making her statement vague, because yeah, she was enough of a bitch to keep him off balance like that. “Is that fucking okay with you?” she asked as her eyes darted from his eyes to his mouth, probably giving away at least part of what she intended to do in the next few moments, but she didn’t give a damn, not really. The whole conversation had been awkward enough that adding a little more awkward to it wasn’t going to matter a hell of a lot.