“Pure? That’s not a word I would use in the same sentence that had anything to do with Scarlett.”
“Damn, are you hardheaded. Just go out with him. One date. If you don’t like him or you think he’s too old after that, then fine. You don’t ever have to see him again.”
When I put some thought into it, there must have been some kind of spark between us for me to have spent time with him at the party, even if I was a little wasted. That’s not the type of thing I normally do. My style is to stay clear of all guys.
“Okay… I’ll do it. Give him my cell number. But please don’t give me a hard time if it doesn’t work out, especially since he’s friends with Ben.”
“No worries on that, my friend.”
Later that night, I’m running through my to do list on the number of papers I have to write and how many will require a significant amount of research. Having a double major is not much of a picnic, but I couldn’t make a choice between accounting and journalism, so here I am, writing my ass off. But honestly, I love it.
When my phone rings, I answer it without looking at the caller ID. I figure it’s my mom. She usually calls at this hour because she knows it’s the best time to catch me.
“Hey, Mom.”
A crazy sexy voice answers, “Um yeah, this isn’t Mom. This is Drew…” When I don’t respond, he adds, “McKnight.”
Shit. Drew. Flower and date man. Gramps! “Oh, hey. W-what’s up?” I stutter. This weird nervousness settles over me because I can’t remember anything about him and suddenly I feel terrible about it. But if he’s half as good looking as he sounds or as Jenna says, I might be in trouble.
“Jenna gave me your number.” His voice is warm and breezy and makes me remember just how long my lady parts have been neglected.
“Yes! Thank you so much for the flowers. They’re gorgeous. That was very sweet of you,” I add.
“You’re welcome. I, um, didn’t know how else to get you to agree to a date.”
Now I feel bad. It makes me feel bitchy that he had to go to those lengths. “Oh, I didn’t …”
“No worries, Cate. I was only giving you a taste of my good, old-fashioned, southern charm.” I sense a smile behind his words and immediately feel better.
“Well, it worked. How could I possibly say no to flowers?” Did I just flirt with him? I need to pull it together. He’s putting a huge dent in my no dating wall and I need to remind myself that I don’t have time to date.
“Are you occupied on Saturday?”
Occupied? Who asks if someone is occupied? I have to stifle a laugh.
“Let me check.” Of course I’m not, but I don’t want him to think I’m the loser that I am. So I let several seconds pass before I answer. “No, I’m free.” The words slip out because Jenna’s right. I have been spending way too much time on the computer. One night of harmless fun won’t cause me to lose my scholarship.
“Great! I’d love to take you to dinner.”
“Nice.” I pause because I’m smiling. I bite my lip to stop it from growing. This isn’t good. “I can meet you,” I toss out.
“No, I’ll pick you up. Is seven okay?”
“Seven is perfect. I can text you my address.”
“Not necessary. Remember, I sent you flowers? Ben was kind enough to give it to me.”
Shit. What a dumbass. “Oh, right.”
“The truth, Cate, is I actually helped Ben move Jenna in.”
“Oh.” This surprises me. “I didn’t know.”
“Do you like Italian?”
“I like everything, but Italian is my favorite.”
“Excellent, Italian it is. And it’ll be fairly casual.”
“Sounds great.” I’m getting ready to end the call, but something stops me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
Taking a deep breath, I take the plunge. “Why me? Obviously I’m only a junior in college and we don’t really know each other, other than the party.”
“When I pointed you out to Ben at the party, he gave me an earful and I was even more intrigued, so I sought you out. After our conversation, I knew I wanted to get to know you better.”
I chew the tip of my pen. “Our conversation?”
“Yeah. How we talked about Charleston.”
“Um …”
His chuckle is dark with an intoxicating kick like whiskey going down the first time. “You don’t remember it, do you?”
“I’m not gonna lie. I don’t. I’m sorry. I blame it on the alcohol.”
“Like the song, huh?” He laughs. “We talked about how funny it was we never met, even though we were both from Charleston and you were Jenna’s best friend and I was Ben’s. Ring a bell?”
My hand automatically reaches for the back of my neck and rubs it. Oh my god, why can’t I remember this? I’m never drinking again. “No, and I’m beyond embarrassed to admit it.”
He laughs again and this time the sound sends warm shivers down my spine. Wow! That’s never happened before. Warm shivers.
“Cate, don’t worry about it. Want to know what else you told me?”