“Um…maybe Friday night? I don’t work then.”
He nodded. “I’m done here a little after eight. That’s not too late, is it?”
She shook her head. “No, that’s fine.”
“There’s a pizza place across the street. You want to meet there, say around eight-thirty?”
Kory nodded. “Yeah. I like that place.”
“Okay. Now tell me about this tattoo you’re wanting.”
She grinned. “How about I save that for Friday?” Because she had to get the hell out of there before she fainted…or freaked out…or both.
Chapter Four
TINA AND LACEY were impressed with her efforts. Lacey admitted that she didn’t think Kory would do it, because of how tongue-tied she’d been just when she’d been talking about Stone.
Friday night arrived quickly, and Kory felt just as weird about choosing what to wear as she had been when she’d gone to ask him. This time, she did want to look like she’d put a little more effort into it, but she knew too that she didn’t want to pretend. She also knew he’d be coming straight from work, so he’d be wearing jeans and probably a tee. Nothing fancy. Plus they were going for pizza, so there wouldn’t be a need to dress up. Still, she wanted him to appreciate what she wore, and she was going to have to figure out something different.
She was excited but nervous. She’d been crushing on this guy for so long that she wondered if they’d actually be compatible. She had always been so convinced… Oh, who cared? The only way she’d ever find out for sure would be by spending time with him.
She was called in to work but she told them she couldn’t go. Ordinarily, she’d jump at the chance for more hours, but not this time. There would have been no guarantee they could have let her go in time, and she was not going to blow this chance. She would never have the guts to ask him again, so she had to take the opportunity while she had it.
Tina took her downtown and dropped her off. Kory didn’t have her own car and mostly walked everywhere, but it was hot out and Tina knew her friend would want to look as fresh as possible. “Good luck, girl.”
“Thanks.” She decided to wait outside and sat on a bench. She looked down to re-examine herself. Jeans—not too snug but not baggy; a black muscle shirt with a big white skull on the front; and black Converse shoes. She wore a black leather bracelet but, other than her piercings, that was her only piece of jewelry.
She also had money and her phone in her jeans pockets—the phone in the back and the cash in the front. She was all set.
But she had at least five minutes to wait…and she hoped she didn’t look stupid.
She got out her phone and opened the Kindle app. She’d accumulated several free books over the past year and saved them for times when she’d need to wait. Now was one of those times.
She started swiping through the screen. Most of the books there were sexy. She didn’t think it would be a good idea to read any of those while waiting for the hottest guy she knew to arrive for a date.
Wow. She had lots more books than she’d thought. Apparently, she’d found more freebies than she’d remembered. She swiped slowly, examining each cover before moving on. She was so engrossed that she didn’t notice when Stone approached her on the sidewalk.
She did, however, sense that he drew near. Was it that she heard his footsteps or noticed the change in the quality of light? She didn’t know, but she looked up, not knowing if it would be Stone or someone else. It was him, though, and he had a smile on his face.
She liked that. He didn’t seem to do it very often.
“You hungry?”
“Hell, yeah.” Kory stood. “How was work?”
“It was awesome.” He held the door for her and let her walk in before him. “I have to say, I have one of the best jobs on the planet.”
She grinned. “I can see how yours would be a good job. You can express yourself artistically while creating a permanent work of art on someone’s skin.”
“Yeah, but that’s not why.”
A waitress approached them where they stood. “Two?”
Stone nodded. “Yeah.” As they followed her deeper into the restaurant, he said to her, “I like being my own boss, and I like being in the same place every day.”
The waitress showed them to a booth. Kory had found Stone’s reasons for liking his job to be a little odd and had wanted to ask some questions about it, but the waitress started telling them about the specials and then asked them what they would like to drink. Stone asked for a beer and Kory told her she wanted iced tea. By the time the waitress had left, they were perusing the menus and Kory forgot to ask Stone to tell her more.