Hovering there, taking in the smell of her perfume, I grinned. I moved closer to her ear, my lips just inches away from the slope of her neck and spoke. The words came out low, almost like a growl, but I got the impression it worked.

“I’ll pick you up Friday night. I’m leaving my number. Text me yours.”

I pulled back and saw her eyes, wide and soft. If I concentrated, I could see the tiny hairs on her neck standing up. She nodded but didn’t speak, and I turned to walk away, grabbing my order in the Styrofoam containers and tucking them against my chest.

Turning before heading out of the door, I looked back over my shoulder. Rebecca was standing in the same place I left her, her mouth still open, her eyes glazed and staring at me. Her hand had come up, halfway across her body like she was going to reach for the paper I’d written my number on and stopped.

I grinned and left. I would be grinning all day.

To say that Thursday was a better day than the first three days of the week would be an understatement worthy of an award. Halfway through the day, I had done all the work in the field I planned on and headed back to the office. Everett had me drive my own truck to work while he went separately. The punishment was worth it. It meant I could leave whenever I wanted again.

I made my way inside and waved to Lauren. She was sitting on one of the chairs in the living room area of the converted trailer, holding her baby, who was fast asleep in her arms. Shutting the door quietly so as to not wake Carson up, I smiled and went into the kitchen. Pouring myself a big cup of coffee, I grabbed my leftovers from lunch and heated them in the microwave enough to get them warm and took them into the bedroom that Everett and I had converted into an office.

I had put a television and video game system in both offices, primarily because it was a way that the three of us had bonded while we were recovering from injuries. But since we had come to work, I noticed Everett was the only one ever spending time playing, and I decided that I was going to change that. Sitting down at the desk, I grabbed the controller and happily spent the rest of the early afternoon playing a game and eating.

When I came in on Friday, I knew I couldn’t just bail out early again, but I certainly wanted to. The sooner I got home, the sooner I could get ready, and the sooner I got to see Rebecca.

I tried to keep myself calm. If I idealized the date too much, I would be bound to screw it up. Either I would have way too high expectations of myself, or I would end up getting nervous and trying to call out at the last second like a coward. Wanting neither one of those, I took a deep breath and tried to focus on work, letting the day pass normally instead.

Calls from suppliers and government officials didn’t seem to bother me much that day. As a matter of fact, I was downright pleasant to talk to, patiently explaining what the problems were with their distribution or why I couldn’t just drop everything and head into the capital to sign papers that I had already signed and filed months ago.

Everett poked his head in once and saw me on the phone and watched. I expect he was waiting for me to blow up again, and when I laughed instead, he got a sour look on his face and went away. He came back a few minutes later with a coffee for both of us and sat down across from me while I hung up.

“Hoping for more fireworks?” I asked, looking down at the notepad I had made with my list of calls. I found writing things down did better for my memory than typing, and I just simply liked the ritual of striking through them when they were done.

“I thought you might at least put up a fight,” he said. “More fun when you do.”

“Ah, but then I am prone to stealing your truck and going home,” I said.

“You brought your own truck today. You leaving early would be the least of my worries so long as I have my own wheels.”

“True. Today I have a better reason for leaving early anyway.”

“That’s right,” Everett said. “Your date.”

I grinned. I had only told Everett that morning, just as I was leaving the house. All I told him was that I had a date that evening and that I was taking my own truck into work because of it. I didn’t even give him a chance to ask questions, which I was sure were coming my way now.

Tags: Natasha L. Black Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net