Teagan hesitated for a few awkward moments. Why? Why did he have to look so good?

And it didn’t help that he was staring at her, his eyes locked with hers in a way that unnerved her. She looked down, unable to take any more.

“Come on in,” she said, stepping aside. “Did you find it okay?” Did he find it okay? He was standing there, wasn’t he? She shook her head at her sudden bout of awkwardness.

“I did.”

“Good.” She desperately searched her addled mind for something appropriate to say. What was she supposed to say to the guy she’d spent one night with before leaving Arizona six weeks ago? “Umm… can I get you something? A beer or a soda? Or are you getting hungry?”

“I’m pretty hungry,” he said, looking around her place. “I’m still feeling the deficit from two days of protein bars and beef jerky.”

Teagan laughed at that, relaxing a little. “I’ve done my share of backpacking, so I get it. I know a place we can walk to, and it has a great patio.”

“Sounds good.”

There was a knock at her door. Teagan opened it to find Ben standing there with an empty egg carton.

“You got any eggs? The Corner Market’s closed.”

“Yes. Come on in.” Ben strolled in, glancing over at Aaron, who eyed him. Teagan felt herself turn red. “Oh, sorry. Aaron, this is Ben. My neighbor.”

The men shook hands and Teagan went to get Ben some eggs.

“So I hear you’re in the Army, down at Fort Huachuca,” Ben said.

Great, Teagan thought. Now Aaron knows she told Ben about him.

“I am,” Aaron said. “I’ve been stationed there about seven years.”

Ben went on to tell Aaron about his own Army service, that he enlisted at eighteen and served four years. Teagan had completely forgotten that, glad they at least had that in common. Teagan handed the eggs to Ben and went to get a light sweater while the two men chatted.

After sending Ben on his way, grateful he didn’t say anything stupid, she and Aaron ventured into the warm evening, the hot western sun hidden behind a thin strip of clouds over the Front Range. She led Aaron to her neighborhood’s restaurant district and chose a place that served upscale street food. The place was packed as always, and they got on the waiting list and found a bench in the stone courtyard outside the restaurant.

“Drink?” Aaron asked her.

“Sure. Red wine? Malbec if they have it…”

He went inside, returning after a few minutes with her wine and an amber beer for himself. Teagan sipped her wine, feeling more at ease but still unsure what to think. Aaron was in her city, sitting next to her and waiting to have dinner with her. And while she was still unclear about his intentions, she felt oddly comfortable around him, like she had before. Like she’d known him for much longer.

They watched people come and go from the restaurant, weaving past a line of people that snaked around the other side of the courtyard and grew longer by the minute.

“What’s the line for?” Aaron asked.

“Lick It. An ice cream shop around the corner.”

“Is it worth that line?”

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “Do you like ice cream?”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Diabetics. The lactose intolerant. People with hypothermia.” She winked.

Aaron looked at her. “I should know not to be a wiseass around a science teacher.”

Teagan gave a tiny chuckle. When their patio table was ready, they sat down and ordered, taking in the glimmering tall buildings of downtown Denver. The air was fragrant from nearby flower boxes filled with purple petunias, and strings of lights hung over the rooftop patio.

“I’m surprised you live in the heart of the city,” Aaron said, looking around at the view.

“How come?”

He shrugged. “You love the outdoors. And I guess I picture a writer living in some log cabin in the forest. You know, where no one will bother you. But I suppose that’s a stereotype…”

“A stereotype I would fully embrace if I could, believe me.” Aaron chuckled at that. “In fact, that’s my goal. But for now, I’m close to campus and… I don’t know. I like old neighborhoods. This one has good food and drinks. And the mountains are an easy drive west.”

He nodded. “Makes sense. I’d live in Tucson if it weren’t such a long drive.”

A phone rang, interrupting their conversation. Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“I’ll be right back,” he said. He got up and walked away. “Hey,” he said to whomever had called him. The tone of his “hey” suggested it was someone he cared about. Someone important to him. Like a woman. That thought unsettled her. Which was stupid. He wasn’t hers.

Aaron returned after a minute. “Sorry about that. That was my dad.”

“Oh,” Teagan said, chagrined at the relief she felt. “Where does he live?”

“Texas. He and Mom retired there. I forgot to tell them I left town this weekend.”

“He was career military too, right?”

He nodded. “Army. He had a long and distinguished career. Don’t think he much likes retirement, though.”

“Too dull for him?”

“Definitely. It’s been hard to watch. He won’t admit it, either. But I can tell, and so can my sister.” He took a sip of his beer. “What about your folks?”

“Oh, they split ages ago. Mom’s remarried and living in Fort Collins, and Dad moved to Chicago when I was in college.”

She didn’t tell him the rest. That her Dad almost never called, and that her mom did call but never missed an opportunity to ask Teagan when she was getting rid of her pink hair.

“Brothers or sisters?” he went on.

She shook her head. “Just me.”

He looked surprised. “Only child.”

She smiled. “I know what you’re thinking. Pink hair, science nerd, socially awkward… makes sense, right?”

He studied her for a moment. “Pink hair and science nerd, yeah. Not socially awkward, though.”

“No?” she said, genuinely surprised.

He shook his head. “You’re super easy to talk to, and you make people feel comfortable.”

“I do?”

“From what I’ve seen, yeah.”

A wave of warmth ran through Teagan. He felt comfortable around her, like she felt around him. She recalled being with Shawn and their friends once, stargazing, and Shawn had called her a dork because she listed off the names of the stars, saying that “regular people just want to stare at them.” To him, she wasn’t “regular people.” Was Aaron’s perception of her more accurate? Maybe. Or maybe he was just being polite. Either way, she had a sudden urge to kiss him. An urge she ignored.

Their food arrived, small plates of street tacos, chicharrones, olives, calamari, and other vittles. They ate, talking and enjoying the view of downtown on the lively patio. They shared their street food and compared notes on what they liked and what they really liked. It reminded Teagan of their meals in Tucson, where they’d had great conversation and basked in the sunset’s afterglow like it was the most natural thing in the world. Afterward, Teagan made sure she commandeered the check. Aaron tried to argue, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She couldn’t let him pay again. Not when he’d come all that way to see her.

“Ha ha,” she said, sticking out her tongue. “Victory is mine tonight, Major.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Then I’m paying for ice cream. No arguments.”

“Fine.”

With that, they left their patio table and went to find the end of the now-monstrous line of people waiting for their ice cream. Behind them, a young man and woman chatted about Justin Bieber, him struggling to get his words out and her chattering a mile a minute while barely taking a breath. Teagan glanced at Aaron, wondering if he was listening too. He got a tiny smile on his face before he mouthed the words “socially awkward” and gestured subtly with his head. Teagan squelched her laughter until it hurt, doing all she could to avoid looking back at the couple. Again, she wanted to throw her arms around Aaron and give him a playful kiss for making her laugh so hard. But she held back. Apparently, she’d let him screw her six ways to Sunday, but kissing him… well, that would be downright shameful!

With her scoop of key lime and his scoop of salted caramel, they strolled down to the Platte River and the park beyond, the cool breeze refreshing them as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. The air was comfortable and everyone was out enjoying the summer evening, eating ice cream or riding by on their cruiser bikes. She wondered if Aaron needed to get back, but he seemed content to keep walking, taking in all he saw and never glancing at his watch.

On the way back to Teagan’s place, she detected a distinctive and familiar odor. Aaron smelled it too.

“Someone pissed off a skunk,” Aaron said.

“That’s not skunk.” She motioned to the pot shop up the street, with its green cross.

He chuckled. “I keep forgetting this is Colorado.”

By the time they arrived at Teagan’s red brick duplex, it had gotten dark out. Instead of opening her front door to go inside, Teagan just stood on her porch, feeling extremely self-conscious. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She only knew that letting him inside seemed unwise.

“When do you fly home?” she said.

“Tomorrow morning, first thing.” He gazed down at her with intense eyes, his long lashes unblinking.

Teagan flushed, his eyes on her enough to rattle her. “Don’t let me keep you. I… I know you have a long drive back.”

“You aren’t keeping me.” He drew nearer to her until he stood so close that she felt his heat and smelled his clean, masculine scent. He reached over and brushed a strand of hair from her face. Then he kissed her.

Teagan almost melted onto her porch. His lips on hers, his tongue tasting hers, his hands on her waist. He felt good, so good that she wanted to take him inside and strip him down to nothing but his hard-muscled body and gentle hands. But then fear coursed through her and she pulled away.

Aaron blinked in surprise. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “I can’t.” Her voice was a whisper.

“How come?” He studied her face for clues, but showed no sign of annoyance.

“I… I just can’t.” Her voice broke a little, and she looked away, the pain of her past coming to haunt her all at once. Aaron laid a hand on her arm.

“It’s okay, Teagan. I came here to see you. If you don’t want more than that, it’s fine.”

She looked up at him. “You weren’t expecting to sleep with me?”

Aaron hesitated. “I… I’m not going to lie. Yeah, I guess I hoped to. But I didn’t expect to. If you’re not into it or you’re seeing someone or whatever—”

“It’s not that. It’s… I just can’t.” You live far away and you’re too hot for me and you’ll just break my heart and Diana’s right… I do want the real thing.

Aaron nodded, backing up just a hair.

“But thank you,” she added. “Thank you for driving all the way up here. I had a great time.” And she did. So much so that sending him away felt lousy. What the hell was wrong with her?

“Me too.” He gazed at her another minute before glancing at his black rental car. “I guess I better get on the road.”

Teagan nodded, still feeling a bit shaky. “Have a safe trip back.”

“Thanks. And do me a favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Promise me you won’t tell my dad that you paid for dinner.”

She gave a relieved laugh. “I promise.”

And without knowing if it was the right thing to do, Teagan came in for a hug, putting her arms around Aaron and feeling his warm, hard body against hers. He returned the hug, lingering for a moment. And when he walked down her steps to his car and waved goodbye, she returned the wave. She felt sad, already missing him.

Because she knew she wouldn’t see Aaron again.