It was empty.

I glanced across the hall at the nurse’s office to see that it was empty, too.

Shrugging, I walked into Ares’ office and glanced around, once again spotting my calendar photo on the wall.

Grinning wickedly, I walked over to it and stared it down.

Turning away from the photo, I placed the tacos on her desk and picked up a pink pen before walking back over to the calendar and putting a few notations on the calendar.

That was when I realized that she’d cut the calendar, so that no matter what month it was, my photo would be the one to always show up.

Really grinning now, I walked over to her desk and took a seat in her plush office chair.

Kicking my feet up onto the chair beside her desk, I leaned back in the chair and waited.

It took her perhaps another ten minutes before she finally came back.

And even then, I heard her before I saw her.

“Mr. Franks,” Ares’ crisp, authoritative voice said. “Don’t you have a class to be at?”

There was a low murmur of a male’s voice. “And where did you get a taco? Why are you walking around eating it instead of in the cafeteria where you’re supposed to be?”

There was another murmur of voices then Ares said, “I’m sorry, but what?”

Grinning, I placed my hands behind my head and waited.

It didn’t take long before she was warily poking her head around the door frame.

“Took you long enough,” I said. “I only have another forty-five minutes before I have to be back on shift.”

Ares blinked. “If you’d have called…”

I gestured to her phone that was on her desk.

“I’d have ended up in the exact same place that I am right now. So I see you have my month hanging up. Even though it’s not April,” I challenged, curious to see what she said.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, looking caught off guard.

Then she blushed profusely and lied straight through her teeth.

“I had to choose the one that was least likely to get me fired,” she hedged.

I grinned, loving the hesitation in her voice.

What I loved even more? That despite her lie, she truly believed that I would believe her.

It was so cute.

“Is that right?” I said, not bothering to call her on it anymore.

Instead, I sat up in her chair, removing my shoes from the seat beside her desk, and patted it.

“Come here and sit,” I ordered. “Let’s eat.”

That’s when she finally made her way around her desk, and I once again saw the outfit she was wearing.

Prim and proper, yet still sexy enough that I wanted to push that skirt up to her hips and cup her ass.

My hands clenched as she hesitantly took a seat directly next to me.

Her eyes were wary as she glanced from me to the food.

“I’m not really a big fan of tacos,” she admitted, wincing slightly when she admitted that. “But don’t tell anyone. I have to maintain my street cred here and all.”

I grinned and gestured to the bag before pulling out my tacos.

“I got you something that your brother recommended.” I paused. “But then wondered if he was pulling my chain and also got you something else. Hopefully between the two you can find something you like.”

Her face went soft.

“What did my brother say I liked?” she asked curiously.

“The quesarito,” he answered. “With everything on it.”

She scrunched up her nose in distaste. “That’s his favorite. I’ll eat it, but I’m not fond of onions.”

I pulled out the other thing, which was an almost exact replica of the quesarito, but with the queso on the side, and only meat and cheese.

Her face lit up. “That’s perfect.”

Feeling stupidly happy at being able to get her something she’d actually eat, I pulled the other burrito to me and started to eat, watching as Ares didn’t beat around the bush as she dug into her food.

Honestly, it was a surprise and quite refreshing.

I wasn’t even halfway through with mine before she sat back and patted her belly happily.

The move caused her skirt to ride up and expose a few more inches of smooth, tanned thigh.

I licked my lips and glanced up to her face to see if she had any clue what she was doing to me.

Instead, she was staring at my hands.

Clenching one of my hands into a fist, I placed it on my thigh and waited for her to look at me.

Her eyes finally met mine, and her face flushed.

Loving the way the heat crept up her neck, I said, “I came here to ask you if you wanted to go to dinner with me tonight.”

Her eyes widened.

“And I thought, since it was a group thing, you’d be less likely to tell me no,” I continued.

Her mouth opened and closed, as if she was unsure of how to answer.

Tags: Lani Lynn Vale SWAT Generation 2.0 Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net