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“Yeah,” Ian murmured, not asking as he pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “We’ll see you for dinner after practice.”
“Definitely,” Jake said, then he gave me a kiss on the other corner of my mouth and rested his hand against my hip. The light squeeze had me reddening again, dammit.
“Go away,” I told them and then turned to the car.
Once in the car, Coop carried my roses for me as I drove. “You really haven’t gotten flowers before?”
“Nope. Sorry I forgot about the daisies.”
“It’s no problem, they were kind of wilted and sad.” Coop turned the roses around. “Do you like roses?”
“I love them. They’re my favorite flower. I kind of thought it had to be one of you guys, the sweet cards and the fact they mean so many different things.”
“I wish like hell it was me, Frankie. I’d totally take the credit.”
“You don’t need roses to take credit with me,” I reminded him.
When we got to the apartments, he stopped me from turning the car off. “Before you go? I know our date is Monday, but I want you to remember this…” Then he kissed me. It was so gentle, the press of his lips tickled mine. Gentle, sweet and then, he nudged my mouth open a little and while he teased me with his tongue, he didn’t deepen the kiss. My heart did a little shake as he lifted his head and then he smiled.
“What?” I licked my lips.
“That was more than I what I thought it would be,” he said. Then kissed me gently. “Have a good night at work. Text me when you’re home?”
I nodded a little dumbly. He held on to my roses until I was out of the car, then passed them back carefully.
“Monday, Frankie,” he said, walking backward. “You and me. It’s going to be fun.”
Inside the apartment, the emptiness hit me. I’d spent the day surrounded by my best friends, teasing, laughing, making plans and getting kissed. Then I came home to—Tiddles meowed at me and I smiled.
Well, I had my cats and I had a lot of dates.
Being with them was so much better than wondering when Mom would make it home.
I checked my phone. No texts. No calls. No surprises, really.
She wasn’t a demonstrative person. If I needed her, I had to ask.
Shaking off that feeling, I glanced down at the cats swarming me. “Yes, yes, let me change. Then I’ll feed you beasts.”
In my room, the roses joined the others and they looked spectacular. I glanced down at the note then at the roses. I had no idea who sent those but… I really did love them.
My rumpled bed reminded me of the morning. I smoothed it out, then carefully picked up Jake’s boxers and slid them into my laundry. I’d take care of them later. For now, I had to change and get to work.
A thrill skated through me as I changed. I’d told Jake I wasn’t going commando at work, but you know what…
I kind of like feeling just a bit naughty, and I liked that he planned to think of me that way anyway.
On the way to the kitchen to feed the cats, I paused and caught my breath. If I invited Jake over tonight, he’d think we could play more. While I wasn’t opposed, I also wasn’t sure that wasn’t even faster than my zero to sixty that morning.
If Coop came over, we’d all have a reason to keep our hands to ourselves. Coop—Coop was worried about being left out.
“Decide after work, Frankie,” I told myself. “Right now, move your ass.”
Yeah. Good talk.
Chapter Nineteen
There’s the Rub
