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We both sip our drinks. He watches me, and suddenly I know how fish must feel in a tank in a restaurant, when a diner’s choosing which one of them to have for dinner.
My heart races and my mouth has gone dry. I feel so out of my depth with both the place and the situation.
He reaches out and cups my cheek. “Sidnie… you don’t have to do this. If you want to leave, that’s fine. It’s not a problem.”
I look up into his eyes and swallow hard. “Oh that’s so nice of you. Yes please, I think I’ll go home.”
“Really?”
I laugh at his disappointment. “No, you idiot.”
His eyebrows rise. Then his eyes gleam. He moves closer to me, so I have to back up to the worktop. He stops when he’s an inch away, so we’re not quite touching.
“That was naughty,” he murmurs, looking at my mouth.
I moisten my lips with the tip of my tongue. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Why on earth would I want to leave? I’m nervous, but I’m not a fool.”
He lifts a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Why are you nervous?”
“This is my first one-night stand. I really know how to pick ’em.”
He looks surprised. “Really?”
“Really?”
“You’re not into Tinder sex?”
“I have been on a few dates, but I guess I’m picky. I’m not going to sleep with just anyone.”
He smiles at the compliment, lifting a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “I’d never have guessed that from your website.”
“I’m all talk.”
“Literally.”
“Well, yeah. And you… well, you’ve obviously done this a lot, and it’s a bit intimidating, that’s all.”
He’s still stroking my cheek, and now he brushes his thumb over my bottom lip. “I wouldn’t say a lot.”
“Aw, come on. Don’t be modest. Gus must think there’s a revolving door on the apartment.”
“Not here. Didn’t I say? I only moved in a month ago. I was out on the North Shore before that, but I wanted somewhere closer to work.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize.”
“You’re the first girl I’ve brought up here,” he says.
For some reason, that really surprises me. He might have had a hundred one-nights stands, but not here. The ghosts of other women don’t haunt this apartment. The thought fills me with a warm glow.
“You like that,” he says, a statement, not a question.
I just nod, and his lips curve up.
He puts down his glass. Cups my face with both hands. And then he lowers his lips to mine.
Chapter Twelve
Mack
