“So, do you like Nashville?”
Tate glanced over to see her looking up at him, her head on her legs again, her arms wrapped around them. She blinked twice, and he found himself speechless. No other woman had made him this nervous. Ever since day one with Audrey, he had been out of his league.
He didn’t understand it.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Yeah, I like it a lot.”
She nodded, a grin on her lips. “How long have you been here?”
“Um, right around eight months.”
“And you came from Florida, right? The Rays?”
He nodded. “Yup, I was there for a month before I was brought here.”
“Wow, so you haven’t been in the States all that long.”
Tate shook his head. “Nope, not even a year.”
“I bet you miss it.”
He shrugged his shoulders. There was nothing to miss, so why would he? “Sometimes.”
She watched him for a while, then let out a long breath. “This is really awkward.”
“What?” he asked, confused.
“This conversation. It’s super awkward. All I can do is think that you think I am a crazy slut, and no matter how much I try to forget that you’ve seen my wobbly bits, I can’t. So I think that we should just part ways, you know? Like just agree to be cool around each other since we will see a lot of each other, but that’s all.”
Tate found himself blinking in total shock. Was he getting the brush-off?
“Okay, what if that isn’t what I want?” he asked.
Her eyes narrowed as she pinned him with a look. “What do you want, Tate? Another roll in the hay? ’Cause if you think I’m gonna get naked with you again, think again, bud. I tore up my slut card.”
“I never said anything about getting naked. You are the one that has brought it up twice,” he said, holding up two long fingers. “I just want to get to know you.”
“Why?”
He thought it over for a moment and then said, “Because maybe I think you are worth knowing.”
“I’m really not. Go find someone your age.”
“I don’t want someone my age.”
“Well, you sure as hell won’t want me,” she said as she stood up. “See you around, Blondie.”
Tate watched in disbelief as she made her way down the stairs and around the rink to meet Aiden. He had gotten brushed off … again. He stood, picking up what was left of his cupcakes before making his way down the stairs. He knew he should take the hint and leave her alone, but he also knew something was there. Their conversation was awkward, but wasn’t that part of getting to know someone? Things were always awkward at first, but he was convinced they had chemistry. He felt it in that bed, and every time he had been around her. He could feel it in his bones, see it in her eyes. So what was the problem?
His age couldn’t play that much of a factor, and neither should the fact that he was good friends with Lucas. He also knew that she couldn’t still be hung up on that guy if she was burning his stuff and making cupcakes for him. Maybe it was the embarrassment. But why? Didn’t she realize she was amazing and beautiful? He didn’t think twice about the fact that she’d gone home with him quickly. He thoroughly enjoyed it and would love a repeat, but not until they knew each other. He could wait.
Something was different between them, and he was going to find a way to make things not awkward.
He couldn’t let her go.
Not yet.
Chapter 8
“So, I am thinking about going on a Guy Break. Wanna do it with me?”
Piper looked up at her quizzically as Audrey handed her a beer. “Say what?”
“A Guy Break, you know, where we swear off guys for a while.”
Piper’s eyebrows came together, her bright blue eyes confused as she took a quick sip of her beer. “Why in the world would we want to do that?”