Casual Affair

This was the moment she’d been dreading.

Did they both go home? Alone? Did they go back in the bar together?

Did she allow her weakened resistance to guide her and let him seduce her again?

“Fancy some ice cream?” Zane asked, shocking her back to the present. “I know a nice little spot a couple of blocks from here.”

Fifteen minutes later, they walked out of Dinkle’s Sprinkles with homemade waffle cones the size of Bea’s forearm.

“What kind of lame cone is that?” Zane asked accusingly. “It’s got nothing on it.”

She took an inappropriately long lick of her ice cream and moaned. “It’s chocolate. You don’t need to do anything to chocolate because it’s chocolate. Perfect just the way it is.” She looked over at his scoops, which were covered in fudge, caramel, almonds, cherry flavoring, and whipped cream. Basically, a sundae in a cone. “Adding anything to it would just ruin it.”

Zane waved his cone and reciprocated by taking a huge bite of it. And dammit, she couldn’t take her eyes off of his tongue as it flicked across the ice cream.

“This cone is living right,” he said. “It is taking life by the balls and having some fun with it. Yours is dull and boring, luv. I’m disappointed in you.”

She shook her head. “Nope. This is savoring a classic. I have no problem with putting a little relish on my hot dog in everyday life. But this is chocolate ice cream, Zane. The one thing I just won’t mess with.”

“Fair enough, I suppose. You did say it was your favorite food, after all.”

They fell into easy conversation as they walked down the sidewalk along the Potomac River. There was a pleasant breeze and the sky was cloudless and clear, making the moon appear even brighter against the nighttime backdrop. They talked about their childhoods, hers growing up in Alabama, his in England. After comparing their college years, she realized they actually had quite a bit in common.

“So, you were an athlete?” Zane asked.

She’d managed to leave out the whole Evan-scholarship debacle from her stories, though Zane’s question still made her chest ache with a series of “what if” scenarios.

She kept all of that buried and pasted on an amiable smile. “Yep. I played every sport known to man, but running track was my favorite. I still run in races and marathons whenever I have the time. If I’m not active somehow, I just feel lazy. Or I go stir-crazy.”

He finished off his cone and threw the wrapper in a nearby trash can, while she still had half of hers to go.

“I’m the same,” he said. “I was actually on my university’s football team. Here, I play football or rugby with Mike and some of his mates whenever we can get together.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to play rugby,” she said excitedly, instantly forgetting her melancholy thoughts. “I’ve never figured it out. I should come play with you guys sometime.”

He laughed and looked over at her. When he realized she was serious, his eyebrows drew together. “Are you barking mad? There’s no way I would let you play with us.”

She planted her feet on the sidewalk, pursing her lips angrily. “Because I’m a weak, defenseless little girl?”

He snorted then took a step closer, inserting himself all up in her space. “Because those tossers are grown men, most of them twice your size, and they get pretty rough. There’s at least one or two black eyes and some split lips at the end of every match. I don’t think I could handle it if you played.”

“And why not? You don’t know, I might be pretty good.”

He shook his head in clear disbelief. “Because if I saw you with so much as a scratch, I would have to duff up the bloody wanker who did it.”

The slang was a bit lost on her, but it didn’t really need translating. Wow. That was hot.

She never fell for that whole macho caveman routine, for obvious reasons. But it worked on Zane. Because he wasn’t trying to isolate her; he was trying to protect her.

She nudged his shoulder with hers and continued walking. “You would get into a fight for me?”

He quirked an eyebrow as they strolled along. “There’s quite a bit I would do for you. But letting you play rugby with us isn’t one of them.”