Marie Harte - Enjoying the Show

“Thank you. So do you.”

He nodded, then stared at the menu. Great conversation, Hailey. Just stimulating.

“It was a nice idea to come here, to Kincaid’s. I mean.” She flushed, suddenly recalling just how she’d been coerced into attending.

He grinned, his lips inviting. “I’m a clever guy. Don’t let the looks fool you.”

She chuckled, surprised by his humor. The waiter arrived and took their drink orders.

After much thought, and her discussion with Sydney, she’d decided to enjoy herself tonight. Gage wasn’t a regular date, and he’d been in her fantasies for longer than any man ever had. What could be the harm in a pleasant dinner, anyway?

She ordered a glass of wine and noted he ordered a beer. Good, no hang ups about alcohol. Her nerves jittered, and she admonished herself to calm down. Relax, have fun, dammit . Then he leaned closer and she inhaled a whiff of his cologne, and her vision seemed to swim as arousal pooled between her thighs.

“So, Hailey,” he said in that deep, gravelly voice that made her tingle. “What prompted the Friday night get-togethers?” He chuckled. “I just have to know.”

She flushed a bright red, and hoped she didn’t look as foolish as she felt. But hell, she owed him the truth. “It started innocently enough. The five of us are single and get together to laugh and have a good time. Faith, my best friend Sydney, and a few girls from work. TV or movies and some good food. Then one night I looked out the window and accidentally saw you nak—ah, readying for a shower.”

The waiter brought their drinks and waited while they ordered. When he left, Gage took a long drink of beer and smiled. “So I had you hooked on my naked body, eh?”

She frowned. “I didn’t mean to see you undressed. It was an accident, at first. But I made the mistake of telling the others, and then we started looking for you on Fridays, which you always seemed to show up for.” She paused, fighting her blush. “This is really embarrassing, you know.”

“Think about how I must feel,” he said, though he sounded less than sincere with laughter bubbling in his throat. “Like a piece of meat.”

“Oh, please,” she muttered, grinning slightly when he laughed. A small silence descended over them while he stared at her over the rim of his glass.

“So, tell me, Hailey. What do you do for a living?”

She sipped her wine, calming a bit at the mundane question. “I work for a logistics company, where I run the transportation department.”

“Do you like it?”

She paused in her answer, aware no one had ever asked her that before.

“I guess I do. I like feeling needed, and I’m very good at my job.”

He pursed his lips. “You probably know I work construction.” She nodded. “Does that bother you to be out with a blue collar kind of guy?” His words were light, but the intensity behind his gaze made her wonder.

“Why would it? Of course, I was blackmailed into this date,” she teased, “so I’m not sure my answer qualifies.”

“Good one.”

“However, I respect anyone who holds down a steady job.” She stared into his eyes, delivering the truth. “Contrary to what it seems, I’m not into appearances. I’d rather go out with a trash picker who’s caring and kind than a millionaire who’s nothing more than a womanizing jerk.”

“Ouch. Okay, I get it. I promise not to stare at the hostess’ ass while I’m with you.”

She chuckled, feeling oddly at ease with the gruff man. “Considering she’s old enough to be your grandmother, I’m sure your attention would only encourage a heart attack.”

“Or a stroke. And I’m no good with hospitals. When my dad died, it was all I could do stomach the pine-scented hallways.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, remembering her mother’s last year. “I felt the same way when my mom passed.”

After a moment, he shrugged. “Sorry I brought death up at dinner. I’m not really a conversationalist. Or so my brothers tell me.”

Death at dinner . He sounded as socially inept as she felt. The thought made her smile. “Tell me about your family.”

“Uh, wouldn’t you rather tell me about yours?”

“My mom died four years ago, my father left when I was seven, and I have no other family. Now, how about yours?”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. You asked for it. My dad’s gone. My mother and older brother Dylan are psychiatrists, and spend too much time analyzing the rest of us.

Derrick, my other older brother—and did I mention he and Dylan are twins—and I work together in construction.”

“That’s nice to be so near your family. I used to wish for a twin sister, but then I thought we’d fight over each other’s clothes.”

“And boyfriends?”

She smiled and shook her head. “I’m not a very social person, Gage. I don’t date much.”

“Why not?” He looked puzzled, and as his stare slowly traveled over her face and breasts, she felt the temperature in the room rise. “I have a hard time believing you lack for men.”

“Oh?” She couldn’t help sounding frosty.

He sighed. “What, I offended you for hinting at your beauty? Sue me. Remember, I’m the one who felt like meat.”

“A walking, prancing hamburger,” she muttered and tucked into the food the waiter brought.

Gage laughed loudly. “Come on, Hailey. Admit it. You wanted me doused in ketchup, with you being the bun. Or maybe the pickle?”

“Shut up,” she said, trying not to smile at his joke.

“Or maybe mustard? You’re blonde, and you seem more spicy than sweet. Yeah, mustard. I like mustard.”

“Anyone ever tell you you talk too much?”

He frowned and looked like he wanted to say more, when suddenly he lifted his fork and began eating. Silently, stoically.

Taken aback, she paused. “I was just kidding. I like mustard too,” she said softly.

He glanced up, studying her for a moment, then smiled, his grin putting her at ease.

“Good. Because I changed my mind. One dinner’s not going to cover my feeling like a walking hamburger. I want desert too, at my place. Nothing more,” he said quickly, forestalling a possible rejection. “Your friend’s across the quad, and if you like, we can eat it in full view of her place.”

Hailey thought about Faith looking in on her private, intimate time with Gage and quickly quashed the notion. “No, that’s okay. I suppose I should trust you, considering you could have turned me in before now.”

He grinned, the sensual twist on his lips making her shift in her chair. Had to be his cologne or something. Around Gage, she felt in perpetual heat—and that was so not like her. “Come on, Hailey. Do you really think a guy would admit to a bunch of cops, let alone his cousin, that a bunch of women were watching him walk around his place halfnaked?”

“Um, I guess not.” She wanted to correct him, to remind him that he’d walked around completely naked, waving that impressive penis like a magic wand, and casting a spell over her. Instead she forced a grin and continued to talk with him about a variety of subjects throughout the dinner, constantly amazed at how easily the conversation flowed.

Arriving at his home, each having driven their own cars, they walked together, close but not holding hands, up the stairs. Whereas before, their evening had been filled with wry laughter and interesting conversation, now Hailey felt a sexual tension that refused to let her go. Sure, she’d been drawn to him from the first. But she felt downright edgy, aching for him in the most carnal of ways.

The hot stares he kept giving her when he thought she wasn’t looking didn’t help, especially since she’d been staring at him, and none too subtly, since they’d arrived at the apartment complex.