Shortcake stared at me like I’d just suggested that we strip naked and run through the cornstalks. She snapped her notebook closed and grabbed her bag. “I’m not sure I’m following this conversation.”
“It’s really not that complicated.” I laughed at her hateful look. “We should go out on a date.”
She stared at me a moment and then shoved her notebook into the bag with lethal force. “I don’t understand.”
Why wasn’t I surprised that she didn’t understand? Lying back, I stretched my arms above my head, feeling the bones pop. I watched her gaze sweep down the length of me, getting hung up on the skin exposed between my shirt and belt.
My smile spread. “Typically going on a date is when two people go out for the evening or sometimes during the day. Really, it can be any time of the day or night. It usually involves dinner. Sometimes a movie or a walk in the park. Though, I don’t do walks in the park. Maybe on a beach, but since there aren’t any—”
“I know what a date is.” She jumped to her feet, eyes like chips of black ice in the darkness.
“You said you didn’t understand. So I’m explaining what a date means.”
Her lips twitched as she crossed her arms. “That’s not the part I don’t understand and you know that.”
“I was just making sure we were on the same page.”
“We’re not.”
Grinning shamelessly, I lowered my arms, but didn’t tug down my shirt. “So now that we both know what a date entails, we should go out on one.”
“Uh . . .”
I laughed as I sat up. The confusion on her face was adorable in a weird way. “That’s not really a response, Avery.”
“I . . .” Shaking her head, she took a step back. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
Where in the hell did Shortcake get that idea? “A girlfriend? No.”
“Then who was that brunette stumbling out of your apartment Wednesday night?” she demanded.
As her words sunk in, I smiled from ear to fucking ear. “Have you been watching me, Avery?”
“No. No!” Her face blanched. “What? I wasn’t watching you. I do have a life.”
I arched a brow. “Then how do you know about Stephanie?”
Shortcake shifted her weight. “That’s her name?”
“Well, yes, she has a name and no, she’s not my girlfriend. And she wasn’t stumbling. Maybe shuffling.”
She rolled her eyes.
“So how did you see her if you weren’t watching me?” I crossed my ankles. “And I don’t mind the idea of you watching me. Remember, I like that.”
Her chest rose in a deep breath, and I could tell her patience was running thin. “I wasn’t watching you. I couldn’t sleep and I was staring out my living-room window. I just happened to see you walking her out to her car.”
I didn’t believe her. Hell to the no. Who just happens to be staring out the window at that time of night? As much as I’d love to tease her, it looked like she was about to punt kick my head, but I was a gambling sort of man. “Well, that makes sense. Not nearly as entertaining as you standing by your window hoping to catch a glimpse of me.”
She stared at me.
I winked. “Steph’s not my girlfriend by the way. We aren’t like that.”
Her hand went to the bracelet on her left wrist. “I’m not like that.”
“Like what?”
Turning her stare to the many stars, she raised her hands. “I’m not like her.”
“Do you know her?”
“I don’t just hook up with guys for fun, okay? I don’t see anything wrong with it. Totally not judging here, but that’s not me. So I’m not interested. Sorry.”
“Wait a sec. I’m confused. You’re not judging her, but you’ve made the assumption that she’s into random hookups? That she’s my fuck buddy? Isn’t that kind of making a rash judgment based on assumptions?”
Her forehead wrinkled. “You’re right. I don’t know if that’s what you guys are about. Maybe you’re just childhood buddies or something.”
“We’re not.” I grinned. “We hook up every once in a while.”
Shortcake’s jaw hit the ground. “I was right! Then why did you accuse me of being judgmental?”
“I was just pointing it out.” I couldn’t stop teasing her. The array of emotions that crossed her face was fascinating to me. “And for the record, we didn’t hook up Wednesday night. Not for the lack of trying on her part, but I wasn’t feeling it.”
“Whatever. This is a stupid conversation.”
“I like this conversation.”
She reached for the bag, but I was faster, grabbing her bag as I stood. A deep, annoyed sigh radiated from her. “Give it to me.”
Ducking my chin, I said, “I’m trying to.” I laid the strap over her shoulder, brushing the side of her neck with my fingers. It wasn’t on purpose that time and when she jumped, so did my heart. Backing away, I picked up the flashlight. “See? I was just being a gentleman.”
“I don’t think you’re a gentleman, but thank you.”
Her words were an odd mix of sincerity and frustration, and she didn’t say anything else as we started back with only the narrow swath of light from the flashlight.
“This place is kind of creepy at night, don’t you think?”
She nodded as she looked over at the dark, looming shadows of the monuments. “Well, I guess, if there’s going to be any place in the world haunted, it would be a place like this.”
“You believe in ghosts?”
Shortcake shrugged. “I don’t know. Never seen one.”
“Me neither.”
One side of her lips curved up. “That’s a good thing I suppose.”
I stopped at the passenger side of the truck. “Milady.”
“Thank you.”
Since there was a little less frustration in her voice, I decided to test my luck. I leaned against the open door, watching the interior light caress the edges of her face. “So, what about it?”
“What about what?”
I tilted my head to the side. “Go out on a date with me.”
She stiffened. “Why?”
“Why not?”
“That’s not an answer.” She grabbed the seatbelt, whipping it around her.
“What kind of question was that? How am I—hey, it’s just a seat belt. Not that hard.” I leaned over, taking the belt from her. As our hands brushed, she plastered herself against the seat. It was such a strange reaction that the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rose as I lifted my gaze. “Why shouldn’t we go out on a date?”
Her hands balled into fists in her lap. I wanted to let go of the damn seat belt, take her hands in mine, and ease them out of the tight ball. “Because . . . because we don’t know each other.”
I smiled slightly as I moved my gaze up, centering on her mouth. “That’s what a date is all about. Getting to know each other. Go out on a date with me.”
“There’s nothing to know about me,” she whispered.
“I’m sure there is tons to know about you.”
“There’s not.”
I leaned closer, inhaling her sweet scent. “Then we can spend the time with me talking.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“Oh, it will be more thrilling than watching Raphael cross a road.”
“Ha.” Amusement flashed in her dark eyes.
“Thought you’d like that.”
Her gaze flickered to where her bag rested against her legs and then back to mine. “Can we go yet?”
“Can we go on a date?”
A sound of frustration came from her. “Good God, you don’t give up.”
“Nope.”
Shortcake laughed, and I couldn’t stop the smile from forming on my lips. I liked the sound of her laugh, when she really laughed. “I’m sure there are plenty of girls who want to go out on a date with you.”
“There are.”
“Wow. Modest aren’t you?”
“Why should I be? And I want to go out on a date with you. Not them.”
She shook her head slightly. “I don’t understand why.”
And I didn’t understand why she didn’t get it. “I can think of a few reasons. You’re not like most girls.” True. “That interests me.” And it really did. “You’re awkward in this really . . . adorable way. You’re smart. Want me to list more?”
“No. Not at all,” she replied. “I don’t want to go out on a date with you.”
I didn’t believe it. Call it intuition, experience, or plain old cockiness, I didn’t believe her at all. “I figured you’d say that.”
“Then why did you ask?”
I leaned back, grabbing the side of the door. “Because I wanted to.”
“Oh. Well. Okay. Glad you got it out of your system.”
What did she think this was? Hell, I didn’t even know what this was. “I haven’t gotten it out of my system.”
Her shoulders slumped. “You haven’t?”
“Nope.” I smiled. “There’s always tomorrow.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“I’ll ask you again.”
She shook her head. “The answer will be the same.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” I tapped the tip of her nose, grinning as she narrowed her eyes at me. “And maybe you’ll say yes. I’m a patient guy, and hey, like you said, I don’t give up easily.”
“Great,” she muttered, but there was a glimmer in her eyes, the same sheen that had been there when she was checking me out.
“Knew you’d see it that way.” I tweaked the tip of her nose, and she smacked my hand away. “Don’t worry. I know the truth.”
“The truth about what?”
I moved back in case she swung again. “You want to say yes, but you’re just not ready.”
Shortcake looked like she actually did see a ghost.
“It’s okay. I’m a lot to handle, but I can assure you, you’ll have fun handling me.” Before she could respond, I tapped her nose and then closed the door, grinning to myself as I loped around the front of the truck.
I watched Avery head into her apartment. She stopped halfway in, tucked the glossy copper strands behind her ear as she peeked over her shoulder at me.
A small, shy smile pulled at her lips as she waved good-bye and then slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind her.
Standing there a few more moments, like a creeper, I finally turned toward my door. As I reached for the knob, the door swung open.
Jase appeared, blocking the door. A curious look crossed his expression. “What are you doing standing in the hallway of your apartment building like a loser?”
“What are you doing in my apartment like a freak?”
He shrugged. “I was hanging out with Ollie, but he ran to Sheetz to get some nachos.”
“Ah, a nachos night.” Which meant Ollie would be up all night. I shifted my weight. “Are you going to let me in?”
“Well, since it is your place.” He cocked his head to the side, casting half of his swarthy face into a shadow. “I guess so.”
Jase stepped aside, allowing me to squeeze past him. I went straight to the fridge, grabbed a beer and then dropped onto the couch. “You’re not at the farm?”
He shook his head as he joined me, picking up a bottle from the coffee table. “No. Jack is with the grandparents.”
“Ah . . .” That explained it. Jase was usually at his family farm on the weekends.
Jase glanced at me. “Sooo, you were out with the redhead?”
“Shortcake?”
His dark brows slipped out of the wave of hair and knitted. “Huh?”
“Avery’s the redhead. And no. We were doing an astronomy assignment. We’re partners.”
“Oh.” He took a swig of his beer and made a face. “Sooo,” he said again, and I rolled my eyes. “Why were you staring at her apartment door?”
“How do you know?”
“I watched you through the peephole.”
“Nice.” I laughed, taking a drink. A couple of minutes passed and then I said, “I asked her out.”
Jase didn’t look that interested. “Okay.”
“She turned me down.”
His head swung toward me, his dove-gray eyes sparkling with interest. “What?”
“Yep.” I fell back into the couch, grinning. “Turned me down flat.”
Leaning onto the arm of the couch, Jase laughed so hard I think he hurt his stomach. “I like this girl.”
“So do I,” I said, sighing. “So do I.”