Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories (The Flirts! Collection) (16 page)

She sucked in her breath. “How do you know I’m not going to back out on this deal and dump you before the week is over?”

Her kitty, Hijinx, crept out from under the couch and wound himself between Drake’s feet. Hijinx usually didn’t slink out to investigate until the third or fourth date.

Drake reached down to scratch his ears, which earned an enthusiastic head butt from the cat. “You won’t bail, because you seem like the kind of her girl who sticks to her promises.” He stood up and clapped his hands together. “So, shall we skip dinner and spend the night making out?”

She dropped her head back and closed her eyes.

“Just throwing it out there in case you wanted to speed things along. No worries. Since I suspected you might be hungrier for food than a taste of my lips, I made reservations for Italian, Thai, and gourmet burgers. Take your pick.”

Thorough and thoughtful. That scored a couple of points to counterbalance the cockiness. “Let’s try Thai.”

Drake did everything right. He opened her car door, let her choose the radio station in the car, and pulled out her chair. She hadn’t found a reason to ding him any points so far. It was like he’d flipped on his good-behavior switch. Things would be so much easier if men came equipped with one of
those
.

“Nice place,” she said. Bright tapestries covered the walls and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Soft Zen music played overhead. It was casual but elegant, and surprisingly, she was looking forward to their evening together.

They ordered four dishes to split and didn’t have any difficulty choosing ones they both liked. “What do you do for a living?” he asked while they waited for their food to arrive.

“I’m a freelance graphic artist. I’ve got an awesome boss.” She jabbed her thumb against her chest. “Me. And how about you?”

He held out one hand and started listing past occupations with the flick of each finger. “I’ve been a lifeguard, a telemarketer, a dog walker, and a limo driver. I’m unemployed for the moment while I wait to go to culinary school. I’m hoping this is the career that sticks.”

That would have set off warning bells on any other first date. Flaky and unemployed usually weren’t the best qualities in a man. But this time, it didn’t matter. “Why are you in Springfield this summer instead of home?”

“I’m staying in my grandmother’s house while the family tries to sell it. Everyone else lives out of town. She died last year and we haven’t been able to sell the house.”

She set down her fork. “I’m sorry. You must miss her.”

“I do. We were really close. Grandma was really the only one in my family who ‘got’ me. She encouraged me to pursue all my interests, didn’t give me a hard time when I dropped out of fencing class after six months—even after announcing I’d make it to the Olympics some day. She liked that I tried different things, even though other people in the family wondered when I was going to get my shit together. Funny thing is, she never had a job, and never left this town, but she could still appreciate a dreamer like me.”

“Culinary school, huh?”

“Yep. Back in Philadelphia. Grandma and I liked to cook together. She said I was a natural, so I’m going to give that a shot.”

Rachel mentally removed the label ‘flighty’ and replaced it with ‘risk taker.’ “You’re lucky. My parents practically wanted a signed contract of my career intentions before I graduated from high school.

“You knew that’s what you wanted to do? Graphic art?”

I nodded. “My life has been filled with few surprises.”

“I’m the ying to your yang. That’s what my grandma always said about me and her.”

She took another big helping of Pad Thai. “What’s it like living in her house without her there?”

“Sounds weird, but I keep expecting her to walk into the room. Like she’s in the kitchen, just finishing up dinner.”

She took a long drink of her smoky Thai iced tea. “I didn’t know my grandparents. They were all gone before I was born. My parents had me when they were older.”

“Only child?”

“Yep. My father died a few years back and mom remarried.” She looked down, trying to push away the sad feelings.

He reached over and squeezed her hand without saying a word.

She surprised herself by squeezing back. But then again, there was no chance he’d get the wrong idea by the gesture.

They chatted and shared stories until the rest of the diners had cleared out. When their waiter tidied up the tables around them for the second time, Rachel said, “I think it’s time to go.”
And then what?

Her heart thumped in her chest on the way home, and she realized she was actually nervous. When was the last time a date ended with her feeling nervous instead of annoyed?

***

Damn, he wanted to kiss her. Like, an into-the-next-morning kiss. But he wasn’t getting the same vibes in return on the car ride home. She’d laugh and then pull back; smile, then gaze out the window. They both knew this was going to end. They could mark it on their calendars if they wanted. So what was behind her caution? Dinner had gone better than expected. He’d felt a connection; now he felt her hesitation.

She was quiet for much of the ride back to her place. Possibly playing out what would happen when they got there? Was she regretting their arrangement?

Well, he wasn’t going to rush this. She probably expected him to be all over her. If he were going to do anything with their two months together, he’d prove to her she didn’t know everything about men. And when he did kiss her, he’d enjoy every second of it. He’d make sure she did, too.

They pulled into the parking lot in front of her apartment building and he hopped out of the car, opened her door, and walked her to the front step. He grabbed her hand. “I think that went quite well for a first date.” He thought about joking that they had plenty of leftovers for the morning, but she was probably expecting that.

“Yes, the food was great. And so was the company.” She looked up at him and her amber eyes, framed by the honey-blond hair, almost buckled his knees.

He took a deep breath and squeezed her hand. “I’ll call you tomorrow. But remember I’m not working and I’ve got a lot of time on my hands. Be sure to let me know when to back off.” He winked. “Don’t want you to dump me.”

She blinked at him. “Okay. Do you want to come in? Have a drink?”

Did he? Like mad. But he wanted to be sure she really, truly wanted him when they shared their first kiss. Some might call it calculating, but he just figured it was caution. “Let’s just enjoy tonight. I’ll call tomorrow, and we’ll plan our next date.”

She took a step back from him and let out a laugh. Then she shook her head and took out her keys. “Thanks, Drake. That was fun. And unexpected.”

“Don’t be so sure you always know how things are going to work out, Rachel.”

She looked back at him before walking through her door.

He trudged back to his car. Yeah, driving home from that face—that body—sucked. Big time. But like his grandmother’s beef stew, some things needed to simmer for a while.

He flicked on the front hall light in his grandmother’s big old Victorian house. How old was that chandelier in the front hall, anyway? He looked up at it, wondering which lucky family would be living here. Not that he wanted strangers taking over this place. This home had been the soul of their family. How many holidays had they celebrated here, back when most of the family still lived in town? The huge mahogany table in the dining room seated twelve. But even that wasn’t enough room for their clan. The kids crowded round the kitchen table, tucked away in an alcove. He smiled, remembering the card games they’d play after dinner—and the bickering and accusations of cheating that usually followed, sometimes with cards and dice spilling to the floor when a tussle broke out over the whole thing. But peace was always made once the dozens of pies and desserts were laid out. Probably just left them too stuffed and tired to fight.

Now, his mom and dad were down in Florida. Uncle Bill and Aunt Janice were in Arizona. Aunt Karen and Uncle Ben had both died, within two months of each other, incredibly. Most of the cousins had scattered across the country. It was a shame no one was around to keep the beautiful home in the family, with its stained-glass windows, ten-foot ceilings and all those gleaming hardwood floors.

Selling it hadn’t been easy. The place had been on the market for a year. He’d probably be able to make a faster deal selling a boat in the desert. It was hardly perfect timing to have an expensive old home on the market. His folks thought it might help if someone were living there to oversee things. He was glad for one last opportunity to stay there. Spending it with Rachel was an unexpected treat.

But he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that while things would end, they wouldn’t end well.

***

Rachel kicked off her shoes and scooped up Hijinx. “Can you believe he didn’t want to come in for a drink? Isn’t ‘come in for a drink’ guy speak for ‘action?’” She curled her legs underneath her, angry that she was too wired to sleep. The date had gone much better than she’d expected—until it’s abrupt end.

She got up and flipped open her laptop, settling on the couch with a hot cup of tea to resume work on a logo design. It wasn’t due for a week, but as a freelancer, she’d learned to get work done when she had the time. And here she was, alone after her first date with time on her hands.

What’s he up to?
It was certainly a different tune from the night before. Unless she was just so jaded by all those bad matches in the past she couldn’t spot a nice guy right in front of her.

She was ready to climb into bed when Lindsey called. “What are you doing, Rach?”

“I’m headed for bed.” It was eleven.

“Aww, it’s still early and Tyler and I are out with Luke. He’s been talking about you ever since the wedding. We could double-date!”

She wasn’t ready to reveal the news that she had a new ‘boyfriend.’ She’d only met him yesterday, and Lindsey wouldn’t buy it. “Sorry, girl. Not interested.”

“I know what you said about not dumping any more guys, but come on. Are you never going out with another guy again? That’s crazy. Luke’s handsome, rich and a foreigner. The trifecta of men. What’s the problem?”

“I said I was taking a break. But I met someone interesting yesterday.”

“Hey, that doesn’t sound like a break. I’ll tell Luke maybe some other time. Talk to you soon!” She hung up before Rachel could protest.

She lay awake for a few hours, playing out the ways this unorthodox relationship could go. And hoping he really would call the next day.

Thankfully, he did. She didn’t realize how deep and sexy his voice was until she heard him on the phone. It was guys like him who must have inspired phone sex, she thought.

“Would you like to go to the park and rent a rowboat? I’ll bring a picnic for lunch. What do you say?”

“Sounds like fun.” In all the years she’d lived here, she’d never done that.

He picked her up and she sucked in a breath when she saw him again, like maybe she’d imagined how handsome he was. Nope. He was hot.

She was more excited for their date than she figured she’d be. She thought it’d take a while to get on board with this ludicrous plan. Didn’t seem so ridiculous now.

They spent a few hours on the tiny lake in the park, talking about everything. It was like a microwave-dinner version of a date. It was strange, knowing this was all going to come to an end. It really took the pressure off.

When they finished their ride, he spread a blanket on the ground and knelt down, opening the picnic basket. “I’m trying out of a few new recipes on you. Keep in mind, I’m not formally trained yet, so go easy on me.”

But the food was great: chicken salad with tarragon on homemade bread, pinot grigio, sugared grapes and a fruit tart.

The food was reason enough to stay with him all summer. “You’re in trouble if I gain weight.”

He popped one last bite of fruit tart in his mouth. “Don’t worry, I’ll still love you, sugar plum.”

“No, you still have to dump me, remember?”

Frowning, he brushed off his hands. “Right. We don’t have to talk about that all the time, do we?”

She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about it either.

They spent the rest of the day doing goofy stuff—swinging on the swings, zooming down the slide. They found a miniature golf course and she destroyed him.

But again, he dropped her off at home with a chaste kiss at the door and no pressure for more.

They grabbed a movie in the middle of the week, and she made dinner for them Friday night. Usually by the fourth date she had a list of at least a dozen reasons things weren’t working out: different politics, bad manners, a voice she couldn’t stand to listen to, or some other defect that took each guy out of the running.

But with Drake, she was doing the opposite, creating a running mental tally of all the reasons it
was
working: his humor, his soft lips, his interesting perspective on life. There was only one thing that bothered her—he was taking his time making a move. And it was happening again, as he made his way for her front door around eleven.

“Hey, how about dinner at my place tomorrow?” he asked. “I’d love to show you Grandma’s house.”

She stretched up on her toes and gave him a kiss. “I’d love to. I’ll see you at six.” Maybe for the first time in her life, she was the one who was going to have to make the first move.

***

He was watching over three different pots on the stove when the doorbell rang. He wiped his hands and dashed to the door.

Rachel’s eyes were wide as she stood gazing at the big front porch. “I can see why you wanted to spend the summer here. It’s incredible. And I haven’t even gotten inside yet.”

“Come in. I can’t wait to show you everything.” He was thrilled she liked it so much.

“Gorgeous,” she whispered, her eyes sweeping the room.

“I know. But it’s more than that. It’s all the memories. When I’m here, I don’t feel like she’s gone.” Without thinking, he reached for her hand.

She looked up at him and smiled. His heart gave a jolt. Shit. He expected to have fun with her this summer, but he didn’t expect to have feelings for her—two weeks into it.