“Too late.” Jason grinned. “It’ll be a while before you can pretend you think I’m gross again.”
“You are gross.”
“I’m not. Even Daphne thinks I’m cute.”
He was looking at me with a teasing smile. I opened my mouth. “I don’t…”
“You think I’m cute and you think I look good in a suit.” He turned to Amy. “Your roommate has really good taste.”
Just then, the manager of the gallery came over to speak to Amy. He wanted to introduce her to a buyer, so she left with him. A waiter passed by with drinks and we each took one.
“So how did you and Amy meet?” Jason asked Colin.
“Starbucks—I was about to leave with her coffee order.”
“On purpose?”
“No.” Colin laughed. “Actually, I was in such a hurry and I didn’t even look at the name, just assumed it was mine, but…” His eyes wandered toward where Amy was standing across the room and he smiled. “It was the best mistake I’ve ever made.”
Wow, I thought, suddenly wishing I had that kind of connection to anyone.
I glanced at Jason and found him looking at me. I wondered what he was thinking. The connection I felt with him surely didn’t count. It was just lust, an intense sexual attraction made more intense by how long I’d gone without any kind of physical intimacy. Was he the kind of man a girl could get really close to, the kind whose eyes would shine when he talked about her? I doubted it.
Even so, I wondered how it would feel to have him look at me the way Colin looked at Amy, for his eyes to find me across the room and shine with…love?
Jesus! I was really getting ahead of myself. I didn’t even want love, not with Jason, not with anyone—at least I never had before. What was happening to me?
“I had no idea how powerful photography could be before I first saw Amy’s work,” I said, tearing my eyes from Jason’s. She mainly photographed moments and people on the street, but each photo was more powerful than the last.
Colin nodded enthusiastically. “They are spectacular. She brings something out in her subjects—it’s almost impossible to put a finger on it.”
“Yeah,” Jason said in agreement. “She sees people.” He stopped a waiter walking by with snacks on a tray. “You must be hungry.” He was looking at me.
He really has the sexiest lips, I thought, my eyes fixed on his face. “Yeah, a little.”
He motioned toward the waiter and the tray, and I reluctantly tore my eyes from his mouth, busying myself with helping myself to some food. After a few moments, Amy came back and offered to be our guide on a tour of all the art on display.
She and Colin walked on ahead, and as I started to follow, I felt Jason’s hand on the small of my back. It was such a slight touch and yet my whole body keyed into it. As Amy gave us detailed commentary on each photo, my whole consciousness stayed focused on Jason’s touch. I imagined the hand on my back moving lower and cupping the curve of my butt. I imagined his touch all over my body. I couldn’t hear a single world Amy was saying, caught in the haze of the lust I was feeling.
“Daphne?”
I snapped out of my thoughts. “What?”
“I asked if you want another drink.” Jason was peering at me curiously, but there was something in his eyes that made me suspect he knew exactly where my thoughts had been.
My wine glass was almost empty. I drained it and thrust it at him. “No, I’m fine,” I said. “I’m just going to go to the ladies
’ room.”
Being out of Jason’s immediate vicinity helped to dispel some of the effects of being around him. Inside the restroom, I stared at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, my skin felt heated, and I looked almost feverish. I knew what arousal looked like, especially on myself, but I’d never felt it to this degree.
I took several deep breaths before going back to join the others. A couple more hours, I told myself, and I’ll be at home, in my bed, alone. Then I could tell myself anything I wanted about Jason Wild being just another guy, one I could easily forget.
I entered the room and my eyes found him immediately. His tall frame, his perfection, the way he carried himself—it all made him stand out from everybody else. I blew a slow breath out through my lips. I ought to leave. Another ride in his car, alone with him, and I’d probably end up giving his driver a live-action sex show.
I decided to explore the gallery. I moved in the opposite direction from where Jason was standing, looking at all the displayed pieces. I was glad to see that most of Amy’s pictures had sold. She was talented, and she deserved the success.
“What do you think about it?”