I just know where the line is.
“I would never do that. If you knew me at all, you would never even think that of me. I have more respect for the girl I love than that.”
Ouch, I’ve been maimed! I grunt like I’ve been hit. ‘The girl he loves’ he said. That used to be you, until you went ahead and fucked it all up.
I nod slowly, since he is making sense.
“Shit, Katarina, just tell me what you want from me. My show starts in ten minutes,” he says, looking down at his watch that is definitely not a grown up watch, “and you’re making me nervous. I gotta put the popcorn in the microwave and feed the kids.” Dean taps the face of his watch like the thing’s about to detonate.
All nerds are the same. They can’t wait to escape reality and get lost in a show. Typical Sera Delos and now Dean Carter behaviour. Why am I surrounded by nerds? How come nobody wants to join me in grown-up land?
“I go by Katie. Get used to it.”
Dean’s eyes get frosty again, and I want to kiss him to make that look go away.
“You’ll always be Katarina to me.”
I huff out a breath and mafioso glare at him. “Program your number into my phone, Dean, we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other over the next little while.”
Dean takes a step back, and the dogs move in the space between us, walking into to each other and around us. “Why in hell would I do that?”
“Because you want to help me out; it’s your good guy nature to want to help a damsel in distress.”
“You’ve never been in distress, even when you thought you were,” he says with complete conviction. Big bastard believes it, too. My mouth pops open and lets the draft in. “Here, give me your phone. I’m going to do the right thing here, and we’re going to meet up Monday, after you’re done work, and we’re going to get this over with. Against my better judgement, I’m going to let you make it up to me.”
Shit, I didn’t actually think he was going to want to help me out. My persuasion skills must have hit sociopath status. Go, me?
He bypasses my phone code – Jesus, is he the next Danny Ocean? And why does that make me hot? After he’s done adding his number into my phone, he hands it back to me hard enough that it smacks my palm. I give him a quick call so he now has my number, too. No excuses.
“Keep your phone close. I’m gonna text you the coordinates where I wanna meet up.”
My turn to be surprised. “What? Coordinates? I hate to tell you, G.I. Joe, but I’m definitely not pulling out a map to figure out where the hell I’m going. We’re going to meet up in the city, like normal people, and grab a bite to eat, because food is awesome.”
I don’t know why he thinks he’s in charge all of a sudden. And I did want to apologize by doing something nice for him. He’s gone and taken all of my plans and tossed a hand grenade at them. Who’s chasing who? Who’s in control?
“Oh, really? So that’s what’s going to happen, is it?” Dean asks in his soft voice again. His gaze gets more intense, rooting me to my spot which is somewhere in the middle of his living room, glasses still in our hands. Shit, I should just pour my water right over me, the guy’s got me having quarter-life crisis hot flashes.
“Bullshit. You can’t wait to see me.”
Back to reality, I think, Dean. “Yeah, I’m going to be one of those chicks, waiting by their phone for the asshole on the other line to find a precious moment to send me a text. You’re fucking dreaming, Carter. Ten years hasn’t changed much, has it?”
This is not how you make it up to someone. Shut up!
We shouldn’t delve too much into our pasts. High school was high school. It should basically be a get out of jail free card. I mean, everyone’s an asshole during those years. There’s nothing anybody can do about it. Except be like me and grovel ten years later so my bad luck can turn around.
“Ten years is a long time,” Dean practically whispers, backing me, well, backwards. I’m probably going to trip over a dog, and break my tailbone or something, or worse hit a wall so hard my boobs will concave, when his palm snakes behind me and settles where my wings oughtta be.
“Ten years is a long time to stay the same, and I think you’re the only one guilty of the fact. I know you came here to play me and I know you wanted it to play out like this.”
Maybe I did. Hell yes, I did!
Fuck, where did he get this confidence? I’m melting inside, a swirling mass of girly hormones and my eggs are screaming ‘Pick me! Pick me!’
Dean leans in close, enough that the air he moves out of his way to get close has me twitching like I’m being struck with mini bolts of lightning. The center of my legs throbs, an ache that needs friction and filling and there’s a perfect candidate standing oh-so-close to me.