He carefully set the mug down on the nightstand and leaned over me to speak softly into my ear. “Well, you won’t let me stroke anything else.”
I snatched his pillow from the other side of the bed and whacked him with it, but it did nothing to stop his evil laughter. After I got up and dressed, he dropped me off on the way to work, just as planned. But the thing that I’ve been thinking about all day is the fact that he said he’d call me later.
“So? Any details you want to share?” Makenna’s question jerks me back into the present. “You know, like all of them?”
“I did homework. He cooked dinner. We ate it. I showered. I went to bed. That’s pretty much it.”
She crosses her arms and sits at the end of my bed. “Define pretty much.”
“There you go jumping to conclusions again.”
“Callie,” she says with a cocked eyebrow, “I can read you. I may imagine my own ending sometimes, but I can tell when there’s a story there. Spill it.”
“Well . . .” I begin, trying to decide what to say without her reading too much into it.
She jumps up, slapping her hands together. “I knew it! I knew there was more to it than that. Let’s see. Last time it was nothing, he had kissed you. This time, you stay overnight at his house alone, so what could the big secret be? You did it, didn’t you?” She seems so sure of herself, but then again, she always does.
“No. I told you we’re friends.” If I keep saying it, I’ll eventually believe it, right? “I woke up in the middle of the night during the storm, and he made me get in bed with him. Nothing happened. We slept.”
Her face falls slightly. She hates being wrong, even though she usually is. “You’re seriously sticking to this friend thing, aren’t you? I mean, I’m not complaining. If you dated him and then broke up, it would be weird to have the two of you around Shane and me at the same time.”
I shimmy out of my jeans and toss them to the end of my bed. “You and Shane are weird enough to be around. I’m not adding to it.”
She stops my hands when I start pulling the sheet over myself. “Do you typically wear those panties when you’re staying over with a friend? Because I sure as hell haven’t ever seen them.”
“I said we were friends. I didn’t say I wasn’t having some fun messing with his head a little bit.” I yank my arm free and lie back down, pulling the sheet up over my shoulders and curling onto my side. “He’s supposed to call me when he gets off work, so be a doll and wake me up in a couple of hours. I’m exhausted.”
Thankfully, she takes my hint that I’m done talking about it, and she starts out of the room. “I will.”
And like a truly good friend, she does.
Now that she has woken me up, I lie here staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to motivate myself to move. I’m still sleepy, but I feel much better. I finally make my way into the bathroom and splash some cool water on my face, an attempt at waking myself up a little more. I’m blotting my face dry when I hear Makenna come back in my room.
“I’m up. I’m up.” I mumble through the towel.
“So am I.”
I shriek at the male voice, throwing my towel in its direction. “Damn you! You scared the hell out of me. What happened to you calling me?”
Wes looks good. I saw him in his suit this morning, but he doesn’t have the jacket on now. His periwinkle dress shirt is unbuttoned at the top and his sleeves are rolled up.
“Now that I know where you live, I just thought I’d stop by, so I can effectively use my skills of persuasion. Makenna didn’t happen to mention that you were . . . underdressed. Not that I’m complaining.”
I look down at myself, still only wearing my beach t-shirt and those damn Victoria’s Secret panties. Oh hell, he’s seen everything I’ve got anyway. “What do you want, Wes?” Brushing past him, I grab the jeans from the foot of the bed and step into them.
He seems completely unflappable. “I want you to come to the banquet this weekend. As my date. I normally drag Allison along to things I need a date for, but this is a classy event. I need a date that can live up to it. Besides, my mom told me that, if I bring her to another party, she’d make me sorry. I’m not afraid to admit that she scares me a little.”
“What kind of event is it?” I manage to get the question out, past the rioting thoughts that he wants me to be his date.
“I don’t know for sure.” He shrugs and tucks his thumbs into his pockets. “It’s something that has to do with my mom’s job, that’s all I know. She does these sorts of things all the time, and she expects Shane and me to attend when we can. It’ll be black tie.”