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“Sex is an expression of love, not a physical act,” she said.
It was literally a physical act, but I didn’t want to destroy anyone’s illusions. Or were they delusions?
“But there are men who are bad in bed,” I pointed out.
She tilted her head. “How would you know?”
Good question. “Women talk. I’ve heard stories. There are a lot of selfish pricks out there.”
I winced at my own word. Never mind the topic of conversation. It all just seemed wrong in front of this woman.
But the more I looked at her, the more I was drawn to her. There was an innocence about her, a sheltered vibe. She likely wasn’t used to being around people who cursed. Was “prick” a profanity? I wasn’t even sure. All I knew was that I should probably class things up a little.
“The right man for me won’t be selfish in bed…or otherwise,” she said. “I have a good guy meter.”
My chances of winning this woman over were dwindling with every second I spent in her company. I believed in sex before marriage, and I wasn’t quite sure what I needed to do to push that meter of hers all the way to the top.
But meter or not, there was no denying the way she was looking at me. She was intrigued, at the very least. I could work with that.
“Let me take you on a date,” I blurted before I could lose my nerve. “Dinner tonight. What do you say?”
Her eyes widened as she continued staring at me. With each second that ticked by, my hopes shot upward a little more. It wasn’t an immediate “no.” That was a good sign too, right?
“I have to be up pretty early in the morning to get this truck over here for you guys,” she said.
“You have to eat, though,” I pointed out. “We can stay local. I’ll take you to Scoreboard.”
That was the only restaurant in town. It was hardly romantic, but it was a Wednesday night, so it wouldn’t be all that busy. Maybe I could talk Bo, the guy who ran the place for his dad, into helping me impress this woman.
She wasn’t saying no yet. She stared at me for another long moment, and then her gaze shifted to something behind me. Finally, she nodded.
“Fine. Meet me there at six. Don’t be late.”
I wore a big smile as I turned to head back to the group. But that smile quickly vanished when I saw they were all facing in my direction. No doubt they were having a good laugh at my expense.
But I’d get the last laugh. I’d just talked the coffee hottie into having dinner with me.
Once I was away from the truck, though, something occurred to me. I forgot to get her name.
2
TINLEY
What the hell was I doing? I’d agreed to meet some guy whose name I didn’t know for dinner.
But that wasn’t the disturbing thing about it. No, what was disturbing was that I had no intention of staying in this town beyond a week from Friday. I was here temporarily. There was no point in getting to know someone here.
I didn’t belong in a small town. My plan was to move to a big city somewhere with the three women I was rooming with near campus in Durham. We’d just graduated and were enjoying one last summer before life began.
I pushed open the front door to Scoreboard Bar and Grill and waited for my eyes to adjust. The place smelled like steak, and my stomach growled in response, reminding me I’d missed my midafternoon snack. I’d had my mind occupied with finishing up work and getting over here.
“Tinley!” a male voice called out.
I squinted. In the far-right corner of the restaurant was my hot dinner date. But there was something weird going on back there. Was that candlelight?
I scanned the empty tables as I walked toward the back corner. Was this place normally this dead on a Wednesday night at six? Or had the charmer managed to talk to the owner into closing to regular customers?
It wouldn’t surprise me if he had. That guy’s warm brown eyes could charm the skin off a rattlesnake.
