Embarrassed, she slanted a sheepish grin at him. “There’s not an anti-defamation league I have to answer to, is there?”
He laughed, the sound especially attractive as they walked along the dark street. “Not this time. I’m giving you a pass.”
“Thank you.”
Up ahead, a man with a handwritten cardboard sign on a food cart offered sausage dogs for sale. “Do you mind if I stop and get a bite to eat?” Ryan asked as they neared.
“Are you sure you want to do that? He’s always out here after the parties selling his overpriced hotdogs.”
“Right now, I’d mortgage my parents’ farm for a bite.”
“How is that possible? We didn’t eat that long ago.”
“We sat for a long time talking in the restaurant, and we ate almost eight hours ago,” Ryan pointed out. “Do you want anything?”
“No, you go ahead.”
They waited in line while the vendor served others. When Ryan’s turn came, he ordered a spicy sausage dog with everything and purchased a bottle of water. They started walking again, and he lifted the napkin-wrapped hotdog, taking a third into his mouth with a big bite.
“Mmm. This is good.” He spoke around a mouthful of meat and bread. “Sure you don’t want some?”
Shawna looked at the sandwich. The alluring smell of onions, sauerkraut, and relish moistened her taste buds. “You don’t have cooties, do you?”
“No, I was immunized from them years ago.”
She grinned. She felt relaxed with him, as if she’d known him forever. “In that case . . .”
They stopped a few feet from the car and he held out the hotdog. As she opened her mouth, their gazes met. She became very aware that she was taking a bite from the exact same spot where his mouth had been. All of a sudden, the act seemed very intimate. The smile on Ryan’s face eased away as if the same thought crossed his mind at the same moment. His eyes went from being filled with humor to darkening with something that looked very much like lust.
Shawna’s chest tightened and she diverted her gaze to the hotdog, sinking her teeth into it and quickly withdrawing when she’d pulled off a small chunk.
“Good?”
She nodded, still unable to look at him. He offered his water and she hesitated this time. A quick look showed him watching her closely. She took the bottle and their fingertips grazed each other, sending pleasurable warmth throughout her chest.
After taking a mouthful, she handed back the bottle. “Thank you.”
They stood in silence for a moment before Ryan erased the small distance between them with one step. “Shawna—”
“I’m ready to go to the hotel now.” She started feeling things she didn’t want to feel, hadn’t expected to feel when she came out tonight. A temptation that unsettled her and made her suddenly ill at ease. Ryan should have been a temporary diversion, but right now she felt he could be much more than that.
Among her friends, she was the good one, the one who always did everything right. She’d never had a one-night stand—only long-term relationships. When she and her friends went out, it went without saying that she’d be the designated driver. But the more time she spent with Ryan, the less she wanted to be good.
But her priorities were to finish her summer job and open her own boutique. A man didn’t figure into the picture until later on down the road. Certainly not one she’d never see again come the day after tomorrow.
Ryan finished his hotdog and got into the car, and before long they were on their way. Shawna huddled close to the door, sitting as far away from him as she could, which didn’t seem far enough. The mood of the evening had changed. No more light-hearted banter or teasing smiles. A veil of tension settled over them, hindering the ability to speak.