By the time she’d finished up work for the day, she decided she’d better get lascivious thoughts of other parts of Garrett’s body out of her head. The only part of him she would allow herself to think about was his shoulder. The rest of him was off-limits.
Before she headed to Garrett’s, she went home to take a shower and change clothes, deciding on her favorite pair of dark skinny jeans, her black boots, and a sweater. Though she wasn’t sure why she didn’t just go directly to his house. What difference did it make what she wore or what she smelled like? This was just pizza and planning the trip to Florida. Disgusted with herself for being such a girl, she also curled her hair and put on makeup and earrings.
Garrett answered the door, and she was pleased to see him fully covered since her imagination had already gone wild once today. He wore a pair of cargos and a long-sleeved shirt that clung to his torso, outlining all those muscled contours she wanted to run her hands over.
Off-limits, remember, Alicia?
Right. Shoulder only. She wouldn’t even look at his body, except his awesome ass as he walked away.
She sighed.
“Hey. You look . . . different,” he said as she slid out of her coat and handed it to him.
“I don’t wear that uniform all the time, you know.”
“Yeah, so I noticed when we were rock climbing today. You should get out of that uniform more often.”
She cocked her head to the side. He’d noticed?
He hung her coat in the closet right inside the door. “Take a seat in the living room. You want a beer or something?”
“No, thank you. I’m driving.”
“Right. Okay. I’ll order the pizza. I like pepperoni. How about you?”
“Uh, I’m a vegetarian. So, cheese for me.”
He gave her a look. “No, shit. Okay, cheese pizza it is.”
“You can put meat on your side, or on the whole thing. I can just pick it off, you know.”
“I like cheese pizza. Would you like a soda? I have iced tea, too. Or I could make coffee.”
She grabbed a spot on the sofa. “Iced tea would be great. But don’t go to any trouble. I can get it for myself.”
His lips curved as he walked by. “I’m pretty sure I can fix you a glass of tea, Alicia. You want sugar?”
“No. Plain is fine with me. Thanks.”
She’d barely paid attention to his place when she’d stormed in this morning, because she’d been so focused on him and getting him to therapy. Now that she was more relaxed, she looked around.
Wow. It was nice here. Roomy living room with a sectional, big screen television, lots of video games, surround sound. The room was artfully decorated in shades of taupe and brown that lent a masculine feel to the room. The hardwood floors only added to the hominess of the place, and there were area rugs spread around in a way that looked haphazard, but she knew was deliberate.
Someone had decorated. Unless Garrett had that kind of flair.
“Did you decorate the place yourself?”
“Huh?” he asked as he came in with their drinks then looked around as she motioned to the living area. “Oh. Hell, no. If it were up to me, there’d be like a folding table in here, and I’d be sitting on the floor. Some chick at the furniture store recommended a decorator, who took care of everything.”
“She did a good job. I guess I’m just surprised that you live in a nicely furnished house, you being a single guy and all. Most of the guys I know live in apartments or a condo.”
He laughed as he flopped onto the sofa next to her. “I like big spaces. I did my time in apartments. Too cramped for me.”
“Well, you’re a big guy. I could see why that wouldn’t work for you.”
“How about you?”
“An apartment. I’m not a big guy, so it suits my purposes.”
He gave her a long once-over, the kind that a man gave a woman he was definitely noticing. It made the room seem awfully warm. “No, you’re definitely not big . . . or a guy.”
She laughed. “No, I’m not. But I have lived with a big guy. And sharing a tiny bathroom with my brother growing up wasn’t fun. The apartment I live in now is like a castle by comparison.”
“College was like that for me. I shared a bathroom with three other guys. Not anything I ever want to do again.”
“I did that in college, too, though I shared a bathroom with about fifteen women.”
He made a face. “All those hair products.”
She laughed. “Hey, we managed. And how did you score a suite?”
“Athletic dorm. It wasn’t too bad.”
“No kidding. You got lucky. You went to college in Oklahoma, right?”
“Yeah.” He leaned back on the sofa with his drink. “In fact, there’s a get-together with some of the guys from my dorm coming up. Haven’t seen some of them in a while.”
“Are you going?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t thought much about it. Been focusing on the shoulder thing, you know.”