Page 5 of Freeze Frame

“And what is work?”

“I mostly edit video footage for small production companies and independent content creators. Kind of got into it by accident, I guess.”

I nodded sagely. “I can see how one would accidentally get into editing video footage. Public places are rife with content creators. There’s this diner I go to sometimes for breakfast, and I walk in this one day, and the place is packed. Like, not a seat to be had. Turns out, a video of the cook went viral.”

“That was Bennett’s, right? That little family-run place.”

“You know it?”

“Dude, I’m a waffle lover from way back. Of course, I know Bennett’s. I love it for them that it went viral, but I’m glad the mad dash of people who had to eat there was short-lived. I’d have cried if they stayed that busy forever.”

“Imagine walking in there like,waffle reservation, party of two.”

Josh laughed and my stomach flipped. My blood heated, and my libido thought that maybe sex was something I wanted sooner rather than later. Particularly sex with this man. God, the way I went back and forth between wanting to broaden my friends’ list and wanting to roll around with Josh, discoveringall the secrets of his skin, made me feel like I didn’t even know myself anymore.

Had I been alone too long? Was that my problem? Or was Josh just that alluring? I had to admit that I’d thought about him far too much for my interest to be casual and when I’d thought about him standing me up, it had left me strangely hollow.

Our attention moved to our dogs, who were quietly wrestling around in the grass. They’d stop every so often and collapse into a pile of fur. They never strayed far from us, even though they had the whole park to run in. It was quiet for a Saturday.

“I thought there’d be more people here on the weekend,” Josh said, echoing my thoughts.

“It’s weird, right? I had the same thought. Oh well, at least our little guys are enjoying themselves.” Oh to be a dog. Life seemed simpler. Sniff the other dog’s ass, and if they were agreeable, roll around on the ground with them after. Humans were a little more complex than that and most of them would frown on being greeted with a cold nose up the ass.

“I wish I knew what you were thinking.”

Josh’s gaze clung to me. The interest in his expression was apparent, even to me. I’d have to be blind to not see the way he looked at me.

“You probably don’t, actually.” I cleared my throat. “My son would be horrified if I told you.”

“You have a son?” Something like alarm flashed across Josh’s face.

“Yeah, he’s probably about your age actually. And he’s way better at this whole interacting with people thing than I am.”

Josh’s shoulders dropped in what could only be described as relief.

“Did you think I had like a little kid at home and I was angling to bring him a new daddy?”

Josh hid his smile behind a sip of his coffee. “The thought crossed my mind,” he admitted. “I don’t want kids, and I took steps to ensure that I won't have any. And as attractive as I find you, kids are a dealbreaker.”

“Well, my son is well past the age of needing a parent. He’s all grown up and working a couple of jobs and has a couple of boyfriends.”

“And apparently he’d disagree with your topic of date conversation?”

“Is this a date?” My voice rasped out of me, low and kind of breathless.

Josh shrugged a shoulder. “If you want it to be.”

“I—I wouldn’t hate that.”

He tipped his head back and howled with laughter. Nitro and Wally became concerned and trotted over, then pranced in circles in front of him as they tried to decide if they approved of his outburst or not.

“As long as you don’t mind that I’m old enough to be your father,” I hedged, suddenly nervous in a way I couldn’t describe. But it was the truth. Jax had to be somewhere around Josh’s age.

Josh stared at me while he sipped his coffee. The way his eyes lingered on me felt like a challenge. “As long as you don’t mind that I’m young enough to be your son. Besides, it’s just coffee in a dog park. It’s not like we’re running off and getting married.”

“Both are good points.”

“I don’t mind that you’re older, though. For the record, I probably do have some daddy issues.”