The first time he’d seen her in that black dress, he thought for sure she was someone who picked men up and spit them outwhen they pissed her off. Proof of her walking out on the blind date that had been going so poorly.
Which was another thing.Whywas she on a blind date? Someone who looked like her should have no problem getting their own date. Didn’t he ask her out when he hadn’t asked another woman in a long time?
Even the dates he’d had in the past were from when he’d slept with someone and they wanted to get together again. It was always the woman’s idea, not his. He was fast to cut ties after a few weeks though. Or the woman did because they couldn’t stand his schedule or his job. The other women who flirted with him all night tended to wear thin too.
And those, he rarely saw again. It was more about just keeping on his game if the time came where he was ready to be with someone.
“If we were on a night date, I’d ask if you wanted coffee,” he said. “But you need to get to work, right?”
“Coffee sounds good,” she said. “We can get one quickly if you want to over there and sit outside to drink it. I’ve got time. I can take a longer lunch since I went in early.”
He wasn’t going to turn it down. It was just at the building in the next parking lot, so they walked over.
“I drink it by the potful most nights.”
“You don’t have a beer while you’re working?” she asked him, then opened the door when they got there.
“Not usually. I don’t want to make it a habit since I’m around it so much. Not that I’ve got an addictive personality or anything, but the truth is, I’d rather drink soda, water, seltzer, or coffee. I switch over to coffee later in the night most times.”
“I’d say to help keep you up, but honestly, I have coffee before I go to bed each night and it helps me sleep, not stay awake.”
“I bet you’ve researched that too, haven’t you?”
“I have,” she said. “There are a lot of reasons it helps you doze off. Caffeine suppresses a neurotransmitter that helps you sleep but once it wears off you have a buildup of a receptor that overcomes your body all at once making you sleepy.”
“Adenosine,” he said without thinking. Damn it.
“Impressive,” she said. “I bet you get some really smart people in the bar talking about things like this and you probably remember everything.”
“Not everything,” he said.
They got to the counter, looked at the menu. “I suppose you like your coffee dark and strong enough to grow hair on your chest. You don’t have hair on your chest, do you?”
He laughed. He just couldn’t help it. “Yes, that’s how I drink my coffee, yet I haven’t seen that side effect yet.”
“Good. I don’t care for hairy chests.”
They placed their orders, her getting an espresso, him doing the same. “We have the same tastes.”
“I enjoy getting this out. It’s a treat.”
“Just like this lunch is.” If it sounded silly to him, he didn’t care.
“I had fun today.” They got their drinks and found a table to sit. “I wish it didn’t have to end, but I have to return to work today.
“Me too,” he said, almost surprised to hear himself say that. Did he really miss dating that much? Or was it nice to be with someone that he could actually have a conversation with who didn’t giggle over something silly or stupid?
“I’m hoping maybe the next time it won’t end with coffee.”
The way she was smirking at him was as if she was reading his mind.
“If you didn’t have to return to work, it wouldn’t have to today.”
She looked at her watch. “I lied. I have the afternoon off. Do you have the time?”
He threw his drink back. “Yep, I do.”
12
