“Not saying.” He licked his lips and then ran his hands down his thighs. I found my eyes staring at his thick tan muscular thighs, and I swallowed hard. Not only was he handsome, he was super fit, and I could feel my whole body tingling as I glanced at him. All he was wearing was a pair of navy blue boxers and I was having a hard time keeping my hands to myself. I just wanted to reach out and touch his legs or his chest. Just to see if they felt as magical as they looked. “Hey, you thirsty?” he asked me curiously. “You want a coffee or tea or something?”
“Um, maybe some water, please?” I smiled. I needed to text Mila and figure out what I should do next. My mind had gone to mush and I had already forgotten the plan. I mean, phase onewas in effect. Parker thought we were all meeting up to discuss the wedding. But Mila and Ryker weren’t going to show up. This would give us time alone together. However, I felt like we’d already hit a snag in the plan. Parker was barely out of bed. I was barely coherent and I had no clue what I was going to say we should do once he realized Mila and Ryker weren’t coming.
“Sure.” He jumped up. “You hungry? You want anything to eat?”
“I’m okay,” I said. I was way too nervous to eat, but then I groaned because I realized that I should have told him I was hungry because then maybe we could have gone out to eat somewhere.
“Okay.” He nodded. “I’m not sure what I have in my kitchen so that’s probably a good thing.”
“Why offer me a bite if you have no food?” I laughed at him.
“I was trying to be polite.” He grinned back. “Come with me to the kitchen and then I’ll hop in the shower real quick.”
“Okay.” I nodded, wanting to say that I could hop in with him and wash his back. But of course I didn’t. I wasn’t that forward. At least not with him. I’d lost all my confidence and mojo with him. I was so scared I was going to mess something up or that he was going to reject me. But the hardest part, the part that made everything worse, was the not knowing. Not knowing if I even had a chance. Not knowing if he cared at all. Not knowing if he fancied me. I bit my lip for a second as doubt came crashing in. Did I really not know, though? Wouldn’t he have made a move if he was interested? I mean, generally that’s what guys did. I knew that. There were many Tom, Dick, and Harrys who had tried to get my attention. Men I hadn’t been interested in. That was always the way. The ones you didn’t want, wanted you. I didn’t know what to think. I wanted him to want me. Yet, in my heart of hearts it felt like a pipe dream. All the articles said if a guy liked you then he would make a move.
“Tap water okay?” he asked me as I followed him to the kitchen and he grabbed a glass from the cupboard. “I don’t have any bottled water.”
“Tap is fine.” I nodded. “Is it filtered?”
“I had a Brita once.” He shrugged. “I forgot to put it on the faucet.”
“Oh, okay.”
“It still tastes good, though.”
“It’s fine.” I smiled. “A little water won’t kill you.”
“Maybe in South America or Africa.” He gave me a smile. “Cholera and dysentery and all that jazz. Yellow fever.”
“Um, yeah.” I took the glass from him and smiled. “Do you get yellow fever from water?” I asked him curiously. “I’m not a doctor or a medical person or anything, but didn’t know that yellow fever was from water.”
“To be honest, I have no clue.” He shrugged, his eyes crinkling as he looked at me. “Call Mila, will ya? And I’ll head in the shower now.”
“Okies.” I nodded and my stomach dropped as he headed out of the kitchen. What was I going to call Mila and say, and what was I going to say to him when he got out of the shower? This really didn’t seem to be going well. I wasn’t feeling any interest from Parker. In fact, I was feeling less than no interest. I was almost feeling disinterest. I pursed my lips and tried to ignore the panicky and upset feeling that was swelling through me. I felt like a loser and I didn’t understand why. What was it about me that he didn’t like? Why did he seem to hook up with so many different women, but I meant nothing to him? My heart thudded as my brain answered,He’s not interested in you. I held onto my glass of water and walked back to the living room and sat down. I reached for the remote control and turned the TV on to try and distract myself from my thoughts. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and responded to Mila’s text.
“How’s it going?”
“Not good. I’m going to leave. He’s not interested.”
“Lara, you’re not going anywhere. This is only phase one of the operation.”
“The operation is doomed to fail.”
“Shh.”
“Shh what? It’s true. He’s not interested.”
“What happened? Why do you think it’s going to fail?”
“Hello! He’s just not interested, Mila.”
“Right now, you’re just trying to be his best friend.”
“Dude, we’re barely friends. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be my best friend.”
“Lara. Come on, we talked about this.”
“Eh, I think I’m over it. I don’t think I can do this.”
