Jameson (Face-Off 4)

“I suppose I can carve out some time for you in my schedule.” My face hurts from smiling so much, especially after he feigns shock by my words, holding his hand over his heart with his mouth wide open.

“You’re not making this easy on me, Regan.” I like the sound of my name when he says it in that deep, scratchy tone. “You have no idea how much I want to drag you into my bedroom right now.”

“Three meals,” I say, without further explanation.

“As in you want to go on three dates?”

At least he catches on fast.

“Uh-huh. Three dates and then you can drag me wherever you want and do whatever you want with me and to me. I want to get to know you before we take things further.”

“Sounds fair to me,” he says, pushing the hair off his forehead. “I can fit in breakfast, lunch, and dinner into my schedule tomorrow with dessert later that night.”

I shake my

head, a smirk already on my lips. “And here I thought you were one of the nice guys.”

“Even the nice guys have some bad in them,” he says, his tone serious. “And I plan to show you. After the third date, of course.”

“I’m counting on it,” I say, excited by the promise of three dates with Jamie.

There’s also the promise of sex. If Jamie can make me wet just by touching my hand, I can only imagine what will happen after we’ve gotten to know each other.

“So, it’s a date,” he says, with a victorious smile. “How about we start with breakfast tomorrow. I have to go into the office, but we can make it work.”

“On a Sunday? Wow, you’re boss is a real slave driver, huh?”

He lets out an exaggerated sigh. “You have no idea. But it’s also me wanting to get this project finished so I can stop to take a breath. I’d like to play a video game I didn’t write when I’m not under a time crunch. Or do normal things like go to the movies.”

“I have a few ideas to take your mind off things,” I announce, surprised that I had the nerve to say it aloud.

“I’m sure you do. I may keep you here for the rest of the weekend and take you up on that offer.”

“Unfortunately for you, I also have to work tomorrow, and there’s no way I will have time to sneak away with everything we have going on. The Sixers are playing the Cavaliers. It will be a madhouse with LeBron in town.”

“We’ll figure it out. How about breakfast on Tuesday?”

To say I’m bummed that I have to wait a few more days to see Jamie again would be an understatement. I have trouble hiding my disappointment. But duty calls, and we both have demanding jobs. Maybe it will be easier to date someone who understands my hectic schedule.

“Breakfast sounds great,” I say, attempting not to sound too overly enthusiastic. Too bad I fail miserably, my voice coming off like a squeal of delight.

“Since we’re behaving ourselves until after our third date, and I have work to do, we should probably get back to the game. I’m not so sure I can pretend we were in beta mode if we don’t have any results to report back.” He hands me the controller with a serious expression, nodding for me to take it from him.

I clutch the controller in both hands, the sweat from my palms making it hard to keep a firm grip. “This time, I plan to kick your ass,” I say, confident. “I will school you at your own game, Jameson O’ Connor, programmer extraordinaire.”

The corner of his mouth turns up into a crooked smile. “We’ll see about that, Foxy. No one has ever beat me at my own game before. I’d like to see you try.”

I can’t help but laugh, turning my head to face him. “Did you just call me Foxy?”

He shrugs, nonchalant, and picks up his controller from the couch. “Yup. Do you have a problem with it?”

“No, not really. I’m curious as to why, though.”

“Because you’re the kind of girl that always has a card up her sleeve. You’re the trickster—like a fox.”

I rock to my left, just far enough to nudge him in his side with my elbow. “I am not. Take it back.”

“Yes, you are. Sorry, but you’re stuck with that name now. It’s not a bad quality. I like that about you.”