“That explains your curves being smaller. I liked them better the other way.”
He turned back to the swoony counter girl and said, “Give me two of those scones too.”
“Stop, you’re making a scene,” I mumbled, noticing a lot of customers glancing at their phones and then looking up at us.
“Hey, Blane, will you take a selfie with me too?” some girl ran over from the fireplace to ask.
“Sure.” He winked at her and said “smile” as she hit the button on her phone.
I frowned at Blane as the girl scurried off, holding her phone in the air triumphantly.
“Glad to know you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket.”
“Oh, I am. I most certainly am, Cate.”
That’s exactly what I didn’t want to hear.
We sat down in a couple of overstuffed chairs near the corner, the fire to our right and the bathrooms to our left. Too late, I realized there was no avenue of escape.
Blane cracked his water, took a swig, and leaned close to me. With his hand on my knee, he said, “Cate, what the hell? What’s up?”
“I needed space,” I said, giving him an overused excuse. Next I’d be giving him the old, It’s not you, it’s me.
“Come on, you may have acted all small with Sonny, but that’s not you. What the fuck?” His hair was wet from snow, and his eyes were flecked with small slivers of gold inside the green. He wasn’t smiling, though. He looked concerned.
If only he knew sitting with me could ruin his career.
“It was bullshit,” I said, averting my eyes to gaze unseeing at the fireplace. “I was thrown out of my department and I had to think shit over.”
He smirked at the swear words I let fly. “I get that, but we had this one time . . . one night, whatever you want to call it. I don’t usually do romance, but it felt great. And intimate. And then you bailed.”
“I know, I don’t know. Ugh.” I leaned back, resting my head on the back of the chair for a moment as I closed my eyes. “There are too many mixed messages out there, and they’re driving me wild.”
“You’re a witty, sexy woman, and I’m an interested man. There’s no mixed messages here.”
“And then what? I give you it all, all of me, and then what? The NBA, and tall, gorgeous women throwing themselves all over you?” I grabbed my latte and took a big gulp. My stomach tumbled with my nervousness; the lonely scones on the table weren’t even calling to me.
“Whoa, let’s back up. Did you hear me? You’re a woman and I’m a man, and we’re both young. I can’t say shit about next year, but right now I’d like to hang out with you.”
He took another swig of his water, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. Strangely, I wanted to run my tongue along his neck.
“Why?”
“Come on, you can’t be that naive, Cate. You’re sweet, sassy, built like a woman should be. Any guy would be silly not to want to hang with you.”
“Are you doing that whole swoony thing again?”
“I’m trying it out for a while. Is it working?” This time he smiled and a small dimple appeared on his right cheek.
I wanted to lick there too.
“It’s sort of working,” I admitted.
I gulped coffee and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. I’d already tainted my own reputation and stood to do worse when my research came out, and now I was considering tossing this guy’s future in the trash.
“So, what the hell have you been doing all this time? Watching women’s basketball?”
Nerves skated over my spine like a hockey player on steroids.
Or a basketball player with NBA aspirations.
I looked away, shifting a little in my chair. “Um, I’ve been up to a little of this and a little of that. Made a few new friends and got an ID, but you already know that. Experiencing life.”
That wasn’t too much of a lie. Exactly.
“So, can we do a little experiencing together?”
I raised an eyebrow at his dirty suggestion.
“Not like that. Right away. G-rated or whatever. I can take you on a picnic. Isn’t that what girls love?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been on one.”
“Then we should do it.”
“Blane, it’s the middle of January. When it’s warmer, maybe?” I nipped off a piece of the scone and popped it in my mouth.
“Ha! Yeah. How about an indoor picnic? Next week? We’re traveling the beginning of the week to Ann Arbor, but when I get back?”
I thought no, but yes came out of my mouth, and my heart sank to my boots.
Maybe I could keep this whole project a secret until I was out of the business? I was stashing the money and planning to shift my focus to pure research soon, needing more anecdotal input to flesh out my data.
“Good.” Blane squeezed my thigh, bringing me back to the present and making my panties wet.
How was it that Ricky masturbated in front of me and I felt nothing, and this guy touched my leg and I was ready to go? All the way?
“Now tell me, have you been watching my games?” he asked and then finished his water.