Nate
Man! Elle looked so good, my insides tightened up. Something about that girl next door look that tore at my heart. Sweet, pure, friendly with just the right amount of feisty snark. A guy couldn’t ask for more.
To top it off, the soft aroma of jasmine filled my truck with an intoxicating aroma that pulled at me. When you added the fact her thigh rested next to mine. The way she looked, everything made for a very frustrating experience. Sighing, I closed my eyes for a second and drank it in.
When I opened them, she was slowly eating a Juicy Fruit. Her red lips parting, her long slim fingers …
God, Nate, I thought to myself as I shook my head. Get it together. Remember, keep your hands to yourself and your mind out of the gutter. This was Elle, do not do something stupid. She’d slap me so hard, she’d wind up hurting herself and destroying my dreams.
I leaned back and tried to put it out of my mind and focused on the movie instead. But I couldn’t stop from glancing over every so often. The girl was just too pretty to ignore.
“What?” she demanded after about the tenth time catching me watch her. “You want one?” she asked as she offered me the box of Juicy Fruits with a quizzical frown.
“No,” I said as I shook my head. It wasn’t candy I wanted.
“Good,” she said with a smile. “More for me.” Then she turned back to watch the movie. But within a very short time, she was staring back at me, her brow creased as she tried to figure out what was going through my mind.
Thankfully, she couldn’t see or she’d have run into the night.
So, being Elle, she chose the direct path.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked with a hesitant voice, as if she might not want to know the answer.
I laughed, no way was I telling her the truth. So instead, I said something without really thinking it all the way through.
“I was just thinking that I might owe Joe McCain a favor.”
“What? Why?” she asked, her brow scrunched up in confusion.
I laughed, “Because, without him, you wouldn’t be sitting here with me.”
She threw me a doubtful stare then chuckled and pretended I was teasing. But I caught a hint of blush on her cheeks. The kind of blush she got when she was surprised by a compliment.
“I’m serious,” I said. “If Joe McCain hadn’t hassled Jimmy, then you would never have had to beg for my help.”
“I didn’t beg,” she snapped.
“No, you didn’t,” I admitted. “You asked. And if you hadn’t needed help. There is no way you would ever have gone out with me.”
She continued to frown. “It’s not really an issue. You would never have noticed me anyway.”
Now I laughed. “Oh, I noticed you,” I said. “Long before you ever asked for my help.”
She froze in place and looked up at me as if trying to figure out what was true and what was a line. I could see her mind working, she really didn’t believe me.
Scoffing, she threw a hand in the air and said, “I’m not exactly your type of girl, I bet. You're more into the Cindy Haver, or even better, the Susan Milner type. Beautiful, blond, and big chested. In fact, if I hadn’t snagged you for this little charade, you’d be sitting here with Susan Milner, and her boyfriend would be broken hearted wondering what had happened.”
I smiled to myself. The girl really didn’t have a clue how wrong she was.
“You’re avoiding the question,” I said as I fought to stop myself from letting my arm drop down off the back of the seat and pull her into a tight hug.
“I don’t remember you asking a question,” she said as she looked away with a nervous hint to her eyes.
Chuckling, I shook my head. She was right, but she was also avoiding it for some reason. “If I’d asked you out. Under normal circumstances. Not Jimmy issues. Just you and me. Would you have said yes? Is that question enough for you?”
She continued to look down at the Juicy Fruit box in her hand. Even in the dim light from the dashboard, I could see that delicious throat of hers working overtime as she swallowed.
“No,” she said finally.
Ouch, that hurt more than I expected it to. But hey, at least she was honest.
“But not for the reasons you think,” she added, continuing to stare down. Refusing to look at me.
There was a long, awkward silence while I waited for more. Anything that might stop this knife pain I felt between my shoulders.
Finally, she looked up at me and gave me a weak smile. “I would have said no, because I would have been positive it was all a trick. A way to make me look stupid. Guys like you do not ask girls like me out.”
“What do you mean guys like me?” I asked. “What? Not rich? Not smart enough? What?”
She slowly shook her head while she bit her lip. I knew she was having trouble telling me.
“No,” she said finally. “Guys that are tall, dark, and handsome. With a hint of danger and a touch of class. Guys with more than half a brain and a body that looks like it was carved out of granite. Those kind of guys do not ask out girls like me.”
Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.
“Sometimes …” she continued. Then stopped. Like she was all talked out and couldn’t bring herself to say another word.
My heart turned over as I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled her into me and kissed the top of her head. “Believe me,” I said. “I would have asked you out. And I would have been devastated when you said no. Even guys like me have feelings. We might not admit it. But they are there, hidden deep.”
She laughed and snuggled into me. I sighed internally and held on tight. It might be pretend. But for a moment. I was going to stop pretending and just hold Elle. Nothing could ever be better.