In the quiet of his car, his mind whirled. What the hell was that conversation? Half the time, he had no idea what he was even saying. Most of it sounded good, and he’d gotten his point across, he thought. If only all of it were true.

It’d be nice to think he had better motives for what he’d done. But, he had to admit she had him figured out. She was right. He had feelings for those girls, sure, but those feelings mostly involved wanting to know what it was like to sleep with them, and wanting to get ahead in the contest. He knew what to say to get women to respond, but he’d never been in a situation where he’d actually felt those things. He had never been in love and he doubted at this point that he ever would. And he didn’t even know for sure that love really existed. It was just a matter of someone telling you what you wanted to hear and getting a warm feeling from it, but no one really ever meant those things.

He pulled up to his house, Brooklyn still behind him. She hadn’t driven off, which he half expected. And he’d decided he would be true to his word. He would not sleep with her no matter what. If she threw herself on him, he wouldn’t, just to prove her wrong.

He waited for her on the doorstep then unlocked the door and held it open for her to walk inside.

“Nice place,” she said.

“Needs a woman’s touch.”

“A bit.”

He led her to the living room. “Want to have a seat here?”

“I guess.”

“Something to drink? Coffee, water?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s evening now. You don’t drink in the evenings on your day off?”

“I didn’t want my offer of alcohol to come off as a ploy to get you drunk. I do have wine and alcohol, though, and if that’s what you’d like, I’d be happy to get you some.”

“I think we could both use a glass of wine.”

“Red or white?” He wasn’t taking chances making a decision for her.

“White if it’s chilled.”

He nodded and went off to the kitchen to pour their glasses. He returned with them and she took a small sip.

“Good stuff. You wouldn’t happen to have a Motrin, would you? I have a little headache.”

“Sure.” Probably wasn’t the best to take it with wine, but he didn’t dare say that. He might be trying to tell her what to do. Or was this a test?

He got the bottle and brought it to her. “Looks like the label says not to take it with alcohol, but it’s your body.” He handed her the pills and she poured two out.

“I’m sure two with a glass of wine is fine.”

“If you’re fine with it, I am. I just wanted you to have all the information so you could make a properly informed decision.” He almost laughed. Where was he getting this stuff? He took a long sip of wine, letting the cool liquid run down his throat. Would she loosen up at all after drinking this? If she would talk to him for real, maybe they could get somewhere. But she had to lower her walls first, and they seemed several feet thick at the moment.

He set down his glass. His head was spinning a little. He hadn’t eaten much all day, and then he’d had that coffee with all the caffeine. He needed to get some food. “Want to order something? I’m getting hungry. Are you?”

“I’m okay.”

“Alright. Do you mind if I get a snack then?”

“Not at all.”

He got up and headed to the kitchen for some fruit or something. Hopefully, she’d be hungry soon and they could order some real food. As he bent down to get an apple from the fridge, his head spun more and he stumbled. What the heck? He hadn’t drunk that much wine. Like half a glass. He wasn’t that much of a lightweight, even if he hadn’t eaten all day.

He stood back up and steadied himself by holding the counter. The room was full-on spinning now, and he broke into sweats. Was he getting sick? Had some virus taken over him suddenly? He slid to the floor of the kitchen, breathing heavily, and trying to settle his brain. Was he dying? Was this what a heart attack felt like? No, that was ridiculous. He couldn’t be having a heart attack. He was in top shape and far too young. Yet, what if something like that was going on?

He felt his heart rate spike, which made his ears start to ring. Black spotted his vision. He called out her name, hoping she’d at least have enough compassion for him to call an ambulance.