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Adrienne furrowed her brow. “It’s not even eleven thirty.”
“True. But the best places fill up at noon, so we want a table early, and it’s your first day, so we might be there a while, making sure we’re a cohesive team,” Dustin said. “What do you like? Chinese? Italian? Mexican? Indian?”
Adrienne shrugged. “How boring am I that I’m always on the prowl for the perfect sandwich?”
I’ve got your perfect sandwich right here. You, between the two of us. Nope. This was now, not fifteen years ago, and telling the new employee she’d look even tastier stuffed from both sides was most definitely inappropriate.
“There’s a great place about two blocks down. We’ll walk, enjoy the sunshine, and talk about what you were doing in that classroom last night.” I shouldn’t bring that up again, she’d looked embarrassed enough the first time, but I was genuinely curious and I wanted to make sure the topic ceased being taboo.
Adrienne grabbed her purse. “Fine. But you owe me the same in return. I’ve seen your dicks, you can at least tell me why they were hanging out. Actual answer on this one.” She winced and covered her face with her hand, peeking out between her fingers after a heartbeat. “I mean… I didn’t mean however that sounded. Please don’t take that wrong.”
I really liked her. “I won’t. Just this once.”
“You’d better leave it an open-ended offer.” She finally lowered her hand. “It’s going to happen a lot.”
“So let it.” I jerked my thumb toward the elevator. “Last night. Spill.”
The three of us stepped into a waiting lift. “If you’re looking for lurid or interesting, you won’t get it from me,” Adrienne said. “Scarlet Barton knew my brother when he worked at the university, and introduced me. Creating at home hasn’t always been the easiest, so she lets me use a studio whenever I want, and sit in on any classes I’m interested in.”
Dustin turned to face us, back to the doors, as we rode down. “Including the naked ones.”
“Figure drawing is part of the curriculum, and I like drawing figures.” Adrienne’s tone was casual with a hitch.
Dustin ginned. “So I saw.”
“Once again, I’m not the one who was naked.” The longer she talked, the less hesitant Adrienne sounded.
“And I’m not the one who was embarrassed.” Dustin stepped backwards off the elevator, not looking until all of us had cleared the doors.
I wasn’t letting his throw-away comment turn things stilted and awkward again. “Scarlet and I go way back. We were in graduate school together. She called me last night, said she had a last-minute cancellation and did I know anyone? It sounded like fun, so I volunteered us.”
We stepped outside, and the sun caught the golden highlights in Adrienne’s light brown hair. As if they’d planned it, she and Dustin both paused and turned their faces toward the heat, their eyes closed.
Stunning.
“Let me make sure I understand—a friend calls, says I need someone to take their clothes off for a classroom full of college students, and your first reaction is I’m in.” Adrienne’s voice was calm. She finally opened her eyes again and met my gaze.
I shrugged. “Yup.”
She looked at Dustin. “And you were just like okay, dude, let’s go.”
“I’ve seen him naked before. I was pretty sure my lust was sated enough to control myself for an hour or two.”
Not any longer than that, but I wasn’t complaining about the way last night ended.
“Right. Co-workers, friends, and fuck-buddies.” Adrienne sounded skeptical. “And I’m not quite sure I understand how easy it was for either of you to sign on, but I see other people do it all the time, so I’ll stop projecting my insecurities on you.”
We headed toward the sandwich place, and the sounds of downtown traffic filled in the lull in the conversation.
Dustin started to whistle, most likely whatever he’d heard last on his playlist of the week. It was something he did when he was relaxed and unfocused, and it was always nice to hear.
“I never got the hang of whistling,” Adrienne said. “Not sure if it’s the putting my lips together part or the blowing part.” Her step faltered.
“Only one way to find out,” I said before she could take it back.
“Practice makes perfect.” Dustin didn’t miss a beat.
The bright red on Adrienne’s cheeks was exaggerated in the sunshine, but it looked good on her. “Do not encourage the random outbursts. I’m bad enough as it is. The number of times I’ve been told I seriously need help.”
