As I reached the top of the stairs, she smiled at me. “I love your sandals. But must be tough walking through campus in those heels.”
I offered a broad, phony smile in return. “Thank you. But I only had the one class today. I wore them for my date.” I turned to Caine, spread my lips wide, and gave him a chance to check out my teeth. “See you Friday, Professor West. I don’t want to keep Davis waiting.”
I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a second glance before I was out the door.
Rachel
My mood was effectively ruined. Screw you, Caine West, I’m going to have a good time with Davis even if it physically hurts. I took a few minutes in the car to settle myself before going into the restaurant. Looking up at the sign, I realized Davis had picked a place we’d been to together during our short period as a couple. Roberto’s had incredible food and was romantic, with an olden-days type of feel. I wondered if he’d picked a spot with those memories on purpose.
Inside, I looked around and spotted him sitting at a table in the back corner. It was exactly where we’d sat the last time we were here. If there was any doubt that Davis was trying to rekindle the mood we’d once experienced, the table he’d arrived early to secure confirmed his intentions. It was actually sort of sweet of him to put so much thought into where we had dinner. That was Davis—sweet and thoughtful. He was the polar opposite of Caine’s bitter and thoughtless.
I had no idea why I was even comparing the two men. It didn’t feel fair to Davis, even though he’d win in pretty much any category I could scribble down on paper and analyze. The problem was, Caine made me feel something that couldn’t be categorized—something I couldn’t even really describe. And for a reason I didn’t quite understand, that stupid feeling trumped all of the awesomeness of Davis.#p#分页标题#e#
But this afternoon had been a real eye-opener. I’d practically thrown myself at a man who was attracted to me physically, but hated that he was. No good could come of tempting a man to act who had no interest in anything more than sex and would also immediately regret giving in to his temptation.
I sighed and vowed to enjoy my evening and focus on the man sitting across from me.
As I approached the table, Davis’ smile brought back all the good times we’d had over the years. He stood as I approached and pulled me into a giant hug. It felt so good. His arms wrapped tight around my waist as he buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply.
“I missed you,” he said. “You always smell so good.”
I didn’t realize how much I’d missed being held. Yes, I missed the sexual gratification of being with a man…but being held and feeling wanted felt pretty damn amazing. Down deep, I knew I was needy after Caine’s rejection, but I buried that and allowed myself to enjoy Davis holding me anyway. He took a long time before he released me, and when he did, he stepped back, holding my hands so he could look at me.
“Wow. You look incredible, Rach.”
“Thank you.”
We sat, and Davis just kept staring.
A nervous giggle snuck out. “You’re staring at me like I have two heads.”
His eyes had such a tenderness as he smiled. “I was just thinking…remember that picture we took at my graduation? The one where I had on the gown and you were wearing my cap crooked with a goofy smile?”
“I think so.”
“Well, I printed it out, and I have it on my dresser, and…” He trailed off.
“What?”
“Nothing. I don’t want to scare you off before the appetizers even come.”
I laughed. “Don’t be silly. What were you going to say?”
Davis looked me in the eyes. “I was going to say sometimes I wake up and look at it, but it doesn’t hold a candle to seeing you in person.” His eyes flickered to my lips. “I miss your goofy grin. That’s all.”
There was so much warmth in his gaze. It seemed to be contagious because I felt my insides turn a little mushy. Why had I thought tonight was a bad idea? In that moment, I couldn’t think of a single reason.
The waitress interrupted to take our drink order. Davis ordered his usual Tanqueray and tonic, and he looked to me. “Diet Coke?”
I was feeling rebellious tonight. “I’ll have a Tanqueray and tonic, too.”
Once the waitress disappeared, Davis lifted a brow. He knew my stance on drinking. He also had to remember that the one night we drank too much together, we wound up in bed.
“Is tonight a special occasion?”
“I think it is. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”