Jenna tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up at the ceiling.
“Right.” Leanna rolled her eyes. “You’re organized and efficient, very obsessive, but over the summer, you’re focused on finding rocks and drinking and men, like the rest of us. I think he’s always focused on writing.”
“Always, like too much?” Jenna bit into her toast.
“I don’t know that it’s too much, because I’m not really an expert on focusing, but I can see it in his eyes. When he’s not writing, I can tell he’s thinking about it.” She ran her eyes over her friends’ concerned faces. “And we’re going out tonight.” She watched the concern lift, replaced with delighted smiles.
“Finally. Hope for some action,” Bella cheered.
“But what if he has that look all night? I could tell today. We were making out and he looked at me, and in that split second I knew he was thinking that he had to go write. It was like from his brain to mine, I knew it.”
Amy put her arm around Leanna. “Honey, I think you had your signals crossed. He was probably wondering how he could get you into your bed and out of those sexy little panties.”
Leanna shook her head. “You could be right, I guess, but I don’t think so. When I said he had to write, he agreed. Heaven knows I never get my signals right.” She shrugged. “Other than with you guys, I’m never in sync with anyone.”
“I say just follow your gut. I mean, you’ll know pretty quickly if he’d rather be writing. In fact, you’ll know if he would rather be doing anything else, and then you can decide what to do.” Bella took another piece of toast from the plate. “You look so worried, and there’s nothing to worry about.”
Leanna sank down to the floor, and Pepper rested his head on her thigh. “Yes, there is. I’m totally awkward when things heat up with guys. I can never get my timing right, and I mess everything up.”
Amy sank to the floor beside her and petted Pepper. “You don’t mess up everything. You’re doing great with your Sweet Treats business, and your timing must be okay or he wouldn’t have asked you out.”
“Yeah, but…” He brought Pepper a leash. He didn’t even really like Pepper. Although she had heard him say, Good dog, when she was in the bathroom. Hmm.
Jenna slid off her chair and sat by Leanna’s feet. “You can’t mess up sex, honey. You know that. You’ve had sex.”
Leanna sighed.
Bella threw her hands up in the air. “Are you kidding me? This is what worries you? Leanna, honey.” She sat down with the others. “You could just lie there and the guy will be happy. Seriously, how off can you be in the bedroom? You would have told us by now. We’ve known you for years.”
Leanna swallowed hard.
“No way.” Bella smiled. “This, I have to hear.”
“I can’t.” Leanna covered her face and took a deep, mortified breath before dropping her hands. “Ugh. I’m fine. Really. I’m just not one of those delicate girls who knows how to be all sexy and feminine and…I don’t know. I’m just always a little off with my moves.”
Jenna swatted the air again. “With a body like yours, it wouldn’t matter if you were off, on, or ten paces behind. Girlfriend, you’ve got this. Just relax. Drink some wine beforehand, and you’ll be fine.”
“I guess. It’s not like I’m sleeping with him tonight anyway. He asked me out, not to bed.”
The others exchanged a glance.
“You said you made out with him?” Amy asked.
“Yeah.”
“What are you thinking about right now?” Amy narrowed her eyes.
“Sleeping with him.”
“And what do you think that handsome hunk is thinking about after making out with you dressed in your take-me-now outfit?” Amy touched her shoulder. “You’re doin’ the dirty tonight unless you don’t want to.”
Leanna traced circles on her thigh. Oh yeah, she wanted to. She wanted to so badly that her stomach was tied in knots and she worried that her heart wasn’t far behind.
Chapter Nine
KURT WROTE UNTIL four in the afternoon, when it dawned on him that he didn’t have Leanna’s phone number and they hadn’t made any firm plans. She really did steal his cognitive abilities. Although, for the first time in the last forty-eight hours, he’d been able to really focus on his writing, and he’d knocked out four chapters that resonated so strongly with him he half expected to find his villain standing next to him when he finally pried himself away from the computer. He wondered if in some convoluted way it had anything to do with their impending date. He took stock of his emotions. He was definitely feeling more enthusiastic about…well, everything…and more driven since she’d agreed to go out with him.
Kurt saved his work and brought his notebook inside, thinking about where to take Leanna that evening. They could go to the drive-in theater, but he really wanted time to talk with her and get to know her a little better. If they went to the drive-in, there was no way he’d be able to keep his hands off of her long enough to do any talking. He smiled to himself, because he also knew that once he got her talking, he might be in for an entire night of listening to her sweet voice.
Kurt showered and changed into a pair of linen slacks and a button-down shirt. On the way to Leanna’s, he drove into the town of Wellfleet to pick up a few things at the Wellfleet Market and noticed a poster announcing a movie that was showing on the back of Town Hall later that evening. Kurt rarely ventured out in the evenings, and he was excited to do so. He realized that he wasn’t thinking about writing. His mind was completely consumed with Leanna and their impending date.
He drove down the main drag toward Seaside and glanced at the bouquet of wildflowers on the passenger seat. It had been years since he’d bought flowers for a woman. He hadn’t been planning on buying them, but when he saw the bouquet of colorful wildflowers, their haphazardness reminded him of Leanna. This was the first date he’d looked forward to going on in years.
He parked in her driveway and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. She rattled him. She sent his heart off kilter with everything she did, and while she wasn’t a train wreck, as she thought she was, she was definitely not the most organized person, and she didn’t seem to live with any method to her days. Leanna breathed new life into everything around her. Including Kurt. When he was with her, things didn’t just look different; they were different. Days seemed brighter. Scents were more aromatic. Even the feel of her hand on his skin brought a heightened sensation. It was as if he’d been living life through a cloud, and Leanna breezed in, bringing clarity and lighter, happier feelings. She even seemed to have improved his creativity and writing. She lit up the darkest corners of his world. And although Kurt was a creature of habit and didn’t like surprises, or change, very much, he was drawn to Leanna like pen to paper.
He climbed from the car with his purchases in hand and was greeted by Pepper’s bark through the window.