Somehow,Lucas had never pictured ushering Tess into his apartment for the first time with a bloody tissue shoved up each of his nostrils.
On the walk to the dark clubhouse, she’d started giggling several times at the sight of hisnose tampons, as she preferred to call them. But she’d also slung an arm around his waist and bumped hips with him as they walked, so he was still considering this the greatest night ever.
He unlocked the door to the clubhouse and deactivated the alarm, flipping the deadbolt back into place once they were both inside. Then he guided her around the racks of tennis equipment and toward a discreet door across the room, the whooshing of the fan overhead the only sound.
“You’re rushing me past the rackets.” She squeezed his waist. “I’d hoped we could talk more about my various string choices.”
It didn’t seem likely, but… “If that’s what you want to do, I can speak at length about the various advantages of natural gut versus polyester versus a combination thereof.”
Even in the dim nighttime lights, he could see her lip curl. “Natural gut?”
“Also known as catgut, although it’s not made from kittens.” He grinned at her. “At least, not the nice ones.”
She shuddered, which was a rather pleasant sensation with her pressed to his side. “Never mind. I hereby retract my teasing and request that you never, ever mention kitten intestines to me again during a date.”
“This is a date?” He liked the sound of that. “I should have brought you more flowers.”
As they climbed the stairs to his apartment, she scanned his face and started giggling again. “You gifted me with the sight of you sporting nose tampons. That’s good enough for me.”
In retaliation, he tickled her ribs until she gasped with laughter. Then he unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped aside to let her enter first.
In hopes she might visit, he’d spent a few minutes earlier that afternoon straightening up the kitchen, where he’d left some dishes soaking the night before. The rest of the apartment hadn’t needed help, since he didn’t tend to spread out much. The consequence of too many years spent living out of suitcases, he supposed.
Even tidy, the apartment wasn’t much to brag about. She could see most of it from the doorway, and she took a moment to scan the area before moving inside.
She made a noncommittal noise. “Utilitarian, but cozy.”
After setting down their bags, he tried to evaluate the space through her eyes. The small galley kitchen, the clean beige carpet, the white walls, the nubby blueish upholstery on the couch. The huge TV dominating the living room. The shiny oak coffee table.
All generic. Reflective of exactly nothing about him or his interests and tastes.
That wasn’t good enough for him anymore. Once Tess left, he’d—
No. He wouldn’t think about that now. They had tonight and more nights to come, and he was hoping they could make the most of their time together.
He swallowed back a twinge of panic and nodded toward the narrow hallway leading off from the living area. “The first door on the right is a half-bath. The other one is for the master bedroom and bathroom.”Master bathroomwas a grandiose name for the tiny space with its claustrophobia-inducing shower, but technically correct. “And that’s about it. The apartment came with the job, completely furnished, and I don’t need much room for my stuff. All those years on tour, I never accumulated a lot of furniture or knickknacks or whatever. I know it’s not much, but—”
“Lucas.” She tugged his arm until he faced her. “You don’t have to defend your apartment to me. I understand why it looks like a hotel room. It doesn’t reflect who you are, because youchosenot to have it reflect who you are.”
She got it. The deliberation with which he’d failed to insert himself into this space. Into this half-life he’d created on the island. Perceptive as hell, as always.
He let out a slow breath. “Yeah.”
“So…what now?” She was watching him, her hazel eyes bright.
Raising a hand, he smoothed the fine hairs at her temple. “Are you hungry?”
“Nope. Are you?” She tapped the bridge of his nose, her finger light as a whisper. “And is your nose still bleeding?”
“I’m not hungry either. But give me a minute in the bathroom to figure out whether I can remove my…” Her eyes brightened even more in anticipation, and he sighed. Whatever. He could use that damn name if it made her happy. “Whether I can remove mynose tamponsyet.”
He started for the hall. “Make yourself at home in the meantime. The remote’s on the table, and it’s pretty straightforward to use. There’s juice in the fridge. A few snacks too, in case you change your mind about being hungry.”
He could really use a quick shower. If this evening progressed how he hoped it would, he didn’t want to subject Tess to Eau de Sweaty Balls.
As he opened the door to his bedroom, though, her hand on his arm brought him to a halt. He jumped a little, startled.
“Uh-uh.” She shook her forefinger at him. “I still want to see your injury in decent lighting. And if you think I’m getting naked with you before I wash off some of this sweat, you’re vastly mistaken.”
