"Mike lives on the lake in a flashy house that obviously has the flashy boat to match."
"Obviously."
"Are you being sarcastic about the flashy car dealer?"
"Maybe."
"Well, you would know flashy, wouldn't you?"
She was teasing him, but he couldn't lie and say he didn't like it. Normally, he would be offended if someone called him flashy the way she had with the tone she used. But there was something warm about it, something familiar with the way she had said it to him. Flirtatious, maybe? He was reading too much into things, but there was something about the two of them on that porch that made him want to read too much into things.
"I'm not flashy."
He said it with a small smile on his lips that made Lucy roll her eyes at him — maybe a little too dramatically for extra emphasis.
"Have you seen your bachelor pad apartment downtown with the parking spot for your huge truck?"
"You mean the Jolly Roger?"
Lucy coughed, choking a bit on the beer she had just drank. "The what?"
"The Jolly Roger."
"You mean the pick-up parked right over there?"
She pointed over to the driveway with a dramatic flair despite the fact that there was no other pick-up truck parked anywhere near them and they couldn't even see his truck in the driveway from here.
"Yeah, that one."
"Why did you name it that?"
Ryan gave her a sly smile. "Because I'm a pirate," he said with a wink.
Lucy howled with laughter, her hand coming up to clench her chest as she leaned back in her chair. Her hair fell over the back of her seat and Ryan could see her eyes were closed behind her dark sunglasses. She was gorgeous.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."
He tried to casually raise his bottle for a drink. "Yes, you did."
"OK, yes, I did." She took a breath and sat up, her hand moving to grip her bottle again. "Sometimes, I just forget how young you are."
What?"What does that mean?" he asked, trying not to sound too defensive.
"It's just that you're what? Twenty-one years old? I think I stopped naming my cars before I went to law school."
Right, the age thing. He could admit that he was having a good time with her, but then there would be these moments when he remembered exactly who he was — and exactly how young he was. He would be lying if he said that there weren't times when Lucy Evans, attorney at law, intimidated him. That may be one of the reasons why he never tried to start something with her. She wasn't like the girls he brought home. She was intelligent and sharp and, to be honest, out of his league. Normally, it didn't bother him. But right now, there was something about the way she implied that he was young and immature that rubbed him the wrong way. He tried to shrug it off and grabbed his beer, hoping to hide his true feelings about what she had said about him.
"Maybe it's just a phase I'll grow out of."
"Maybe." She gave him a small smile. "But you're not bad the way you are right now."
He swallowed down whatever warmth he could feel rising from his chest. "Thanks."
Ryan turned to see Lucy giving him a genuine smile as she raised her bottle to her lips again. Maybe it wasn't a big deal that he was immature sometimes. Maybe that was OK for now as the two of them sat alone in the woods. There was no one he had to impress — except Lucy.
She reached out and grabbed his arm, making his entire body tingle. He wasn't expecting it, wasn't prepared for that kind of feeling against his bare arm. He had to give himself credit for only getting partially hard at the surprising contact. But he couldn't help but stare at Lucy, her eyes going wide as she suddenly realized what she had done. Instead of moving though, she left her hand there, her fingers lingering against his skin.
"Hey," she said quietly. "What are your plans for dinner tonight?"
