The Mistake

But tonight it’s just the two of us, with no Jeff in sight.

A smile lifts the corners of her mouth as she approaches me. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I nod at the retreating taillights of the cab. “You should’ve told me you didn’t have a ride. Jeff or I could’ve picked you up.”

“Oh, really? I had no idea this was a full service joint,” she teases.

I shrug. “We aim to please.”

Her smile widens, and I realize how sleazy that light-hearted comment had sounded. I hadn’t been trying to flirt, but her eyes are gleaming seductively now.

I suddenly notice they’re almost the same shade of brown as Grace’s eyes. Except Grace never looked at me like she wanted to gobble me up and ask for seconds. There’d been something earnest about her gaze. There was heat, sure, but it wasn’t as calculated and overt as the way Tori is gazing at me right now.

And shit, I really need to quit thinking about Grace. I can’t even count how many times I’ve called her this summer, but her continued silence tells me everything I need to know. She doesn’t want to hear my apologies. She doesn’t want to see me again.

Yet I can’t fight the hope that maybe she’ll change her mind.

“You know, you get better looking every time I see you,” Tori drawls.

I doubt it. If anything, I just get more tired. And I’m pretty sure there’s a streak of oil on my cheek at the moment, but Tori doesn’t seem to mind.

She pouts. “What, you’re not going to return the compliment?”

I can’t help but grin. “Tori, you’re gorgeous and you know it. You don’t need me to tell you that.”

“No, but sometimes it’s nice to hear it.”

I’m not sure how I feel about the direction this conversation is going, so I change the subject. “You got my message, right? I explained everything we did to the car, but I can run through it with you again, if you want.”

“No need. It sounds like you were very thorough.” She slants her head. “So. Do you have big plans tonight?”

“Nope. Gonna take a shower and crash. It’s been a long day, and it’ll be an even longer one tomorrow.”

“A shower, huh? You know,” she says casually, “I just got a second showerhead installed in my shower.”—and there’s nothing casual about the end of that sentence—“I always see it in the movies, these incredible-looking showers with a million showerheads, and I was like, why can’t I have that? And then I realized, I absolutely can.” She grins. “So I called a plumber and he came by last week and installed it. I can’t even describe how amazing it is. Water spraying you front and back? It’s glorious.”

Annnnnd my dick is semi-hard now.

I’m not about to get all self-judgy, though, because one, I haven’t had sex in almost three months, and two, when a beautiful woman is talking about her shower, there’s something wrong with you if your brain doesn’t conjure up the image of her in that shower. Naked. With water spraying her—front and back.

“You should come over and check it out sometime,” she says, and her wink is about as subtle as a slap on the ass.

Hesitation rises in my chest. Any other time, I’d invite myself into her shower in a heartbeat. But I’m still holding on to hope that Grace might…might what? Text me? Accept my apology? Even if she does, that doesn’t mean she’ll want to go out with me. Hell, why would she? She wanted to fuck me and I rejected her.

As my silence drags, Tori lets out a sigh. “I’ve heard the rumors about you, Logan, and I’ve gotta say, I’m disappointed that they’re not true.”

I narrow my eyes. “What rumors?”

“You know, that you’re sex on a stick. Up for anything. Good in bed.” She gives me a sassy grin. “Or maybe all of it is true, and you’re just not into older women. But I’ll have you know, I polled some friends and they all concurred that a six-year age difference does not make me a cougar.”

A laugh pops out. “You’re definitely not a cougar, Tori.”

“Then I guess I’m not your type.”

My gaze wanders over the perky tits beneath her tight shirt and the shapely legs that go on forever. Not my type? Yeah right. She’s exactly the kind of woman I’m normally attracted to.

So what the hell is stopping me? Grace? Because after months of radio silence, maybe it’s time for me to finally take the hint.

“Naah, that’s not true,” I say nonchalantly. “You usually catch me when I’m distracted.”

“Hmmm. Well, are you distracted now?”

“Nope. In fact…” My gaze lingers on her chest again before meeting her eyes. “I could really go for a shower.”





17




Logan