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CHAPTER8
Rock
I’d done it. Drea didn’t hate me. She’d kissed me, so that proved it. But what the hell was I supposed to do now?
The problem, I realized as I drove back to my house from dropping her off at work, was that I actually liked her. In a way I hadn’t felt in a really long time. If ever.
I knew it was ridiculous. I barely knew her.
But it didn’t seem to matter to the part of my brain that insisted on fixating around the kiss we’d just shared. She’d been responsive, and soft, and the way her body had fit mine had me wondering what it would be like to continue that exploration somewhere more private. And naturally, the rest of me reminded me that we were currently sharing an apartment. Possibilities abounded.
But I also didn’t want to lead her on. I didn’t live here. Not really. And she sounded like she was figuring things out too.
And furthermore, I told myself as I pulled up to the duplex, I had no business even thinking about this kind of thing. I wasn’t looking for entanglements. I needed to keep my head in the game. Except it wasn’t. Not in hockey, and not in pickle ball. Right now, it was only in one place. With Drea.
I decided I was going to let myself explore this thing—If she was on board, of course. I was here for a week. We’d see what might evolve.
I called my aunt and let her know that we’d worked things out and not to worry about Mr. Mulligan if she didn’t want to. She sounded relieved. Evidently Mr. Mulligan’s attorney lived in a distant part of some European country and was difficult to reach during business hours.
“Like Transylvania?” I asked her.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Aunt Nattie said. “But... I think that’s actually right, yes.”
“Well, take your time. Things are working out over here.”
“Interesting,” Aunt Nattie said, catching my drift.
I hung up with her and got to work tidying the place up and getting ready to execute my plan for the evening, which I hoped involved more time spent figuring out why I wanted Drea so badly. And maybe getting to explore her curvy, cinnamon-scented body in a bit more detail.
But I was getting ahead of myself. First. Dinner.
* * *
I picked Drea up after her shift, and nearly lost it when the scent of cinnamon filled the car once she was settled.
“I could have gotten a ride,” she said, though she didn’t sound upset. “You didn’t have to drive me again.”
“I like driving you,” I said, struggling to stay on my side of the car. “Damn, you smell good.”
She gave me a funny look then, and sighed.
“What?” I asked.
“I can’t... I can’t tell if you’re flirting with me. Or if you’re just being you. It’s just...”
“I’m flirting,” I assured her.
“Oh.”
I navigated back toward our shared home, and explained. “Look. I’m only here a week. And I have no idea if this is insane, but I want to use that time to get to know you. To figure out if maybe there’s something here besides this infatuating cinnamon scent and deeper than my ridiculous attraction to that little pout you make with your lips.”
“My. Um... Rock, we just met.”
“That’s usually how things begin.”
“But...”
Worry gripped me then. Did she not feel the same way? Was this one-sided? But the kiss had definitely not been one-sided. “Oh,” I said, trying to let her off the hook.
