LITMIR.BIZ

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      THE BAND, just back from a break, started playing an energetic Garth Brooks song when Jake thought he heard Tori say the most bizarre thing. He smiled just thinking about her reaction if he were to tell her what he thought she’d said.

      She smiled back and leaned forward until her breasts grazed the table, her clingy V-neck shirt showing off a mouthwatering amount of cleavage. “Is that a yes?”

      He sobered quickly. “I didn’t hear you.”

      She straightened, her smile disappearing. “Look, it’s either yes or no. You won’t hurt my feelings if you aren’t interested. But it isn’t necessary to toy with me. Because that won’t happen.”

      She’d lied. He had hurt her feelings. It was in her eyes, and the defensiveness of her body language as she crossed her arms and shrunk back against the scarred wood chair.

      “Seriously,” he said, “I thought I heard you but you couldn’t have said what I think you did.”

      Her mouth began to curve again. “I probably shouldn’t have put it that way.”

      Jake stared back. Man, she had a set of balls on her. Not a bad thing, but damn if he knew what to say.

      She blinked, looking a little uneasy, and then picked up her beer and finished it off.

      “Okay,” he said slowly. “I’m thinking you want to tangle the sheets a little. Am I on the right track?”

      She nodded, breaking eye contact to signal the waitress for another beer. She looked back at him, moistened her lips and said, “No strings attached of course.”

      It wasn’t hard to keep a straight face. He was still blown away. “For your benefit or mine?”

      “For both of us.” She shrugged. “I doubt you’re looking for a relationship, and neither am I.”

      Not with him anyway. He wasn’t in her league. No blue blood to pass on to the kiddies. The idea pissed him off. “What makes you think I’m not looking for a relationship?”

      Panic crossed her face giving him enormous satisfaction. But then she relaxed and met his eyes with a smugness that ruined his fun. “What are you, about thirty now?” He nodded, and she said, “No wife and kids yet, and when I mentioned the possibility, your friend laughed. Tells me I’m not far off base in my assumption.”

      Friggin’ Hector. “Okay, so I’ve been busy.”

      “How busy?”

      He felt something near the top of his boot. Her foot, he realized. She ran it up his calf over his jeans to his knee, paused and then went to midthigh.

      The waitress appeared with two more beers.

      Jake straightened when he realized he’d unconsciously been leaning over the table toward Tori. He’d even shifted his hips forward.

      “Thanks,” he muttered when the woman set the Corona down in front of him, glad he didn’t have to look at Tori. She had to be laughing, knowing how she’d gotten to him.

      The waitress stuffed her order pad into the back pocket of her jeans and then shifted her tray to her other hand. “Y’all want anything else? We’ve got chicken wings, hot or mild, or jalapeño poppers. They’re pretty good. Not too spicy.”

      Tori shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m in the mood for something else. How about you?” she asked Jake, the twitch at the corners of her mouth unmistakable.

      “I’m good,” he told the waitress. “I’ll take the check, though.”

      Tori frowned at him. He wasn’t sure what that was about. Maybe she wasn’t ready to leave. Maybe she’d been bluffing. Maybe she got off on getting him horny and then kicking him to the curb.

      The waitress set the tray on the table and got the order pad out of her pocket. After she ripped off the top sheet and set it in front of Jake, she picked up her tray. “Y’all be good, and come back soon.”

      Tori tried to grab the check but Jake snatched it first. “I’ll take that,” she said. “I asked you out, remember?”

      He smiled. “How politically correct of you,” he said as he dug into his pocket. “You get it the next time.” He flipped through the folded bills, withdrew enough to cover a generous tip, and then looked up. “Assuming there is a next time.”

      She blinked. “I hope so.”

      “Good enough.” He picked up his beer and tipped the bottle to his lips.

      Tori played with the wet napkin under her bottle, lightly sucking in her lower lip, looking as if she had a big decision to make. Or was trying to figure out how to get herself out of this scene gracefully.

      Finally she picked up the beer and took a long pull. When she set the bottle down again, her pale pink lips glistened with moisture. Her tongue slipped out to swipe her lower lip, the action sexy as hell. He didn’t think it was deliberate, though. In fact, she seemed nervous.

      She shook back her hair and smiled. “Okay, where were we?”

      “I believe you were playing with my leg.”

      She sputtered, and then started laughing. “Me?”

      “I hope it was you.”

      “I was minding my own business.”

      “You mean you didn’t do this?”

      She jumped when the toe of his boot made contact. “No, I believe my aim was quite a bit lower.”

      He hadn’t meant to land between her thighs, but he wasn’t quick to withdraw, either. “Ah, my mistake.”

      The surprise wore off and she gave him a playful glare as she removed his foot. “Right.”

      “Damn, I was just getting comfortable.”

      She laughed. “I’m glad I like you.”

      “Huh?”

      “Having seen you all those years is like following your favorite actor in a TV series and thinking you know him. Then you see him on an interview show and think, oh, my God, he’s a geek. Or he’s arrogant, or dumber than dirt. Know what I mean?”

      “Yeah, I guess.”

      “I know you saw me over the years, either running to the stables, or even simply leaving in the car. What did you think of me?”

      He avoided her probing gaze and flashed back to the time when he’d first seen Tori at a window, hiding behind a curtain where she thought he couldn’t see her. She’d watched him for hours, would disappear for a while and then return, sometimes changing windows to track him. She’d been young, too young to interest him, and mostly he’d ignored her.

      Except one day, while in a shitty mood after being chewed out by his father for something, Jake had almost gestured to her. He’d wanted to make her aware that he knew she hid at the window. He’d wanted to embarrass her. But at the last moment he’d caught a glimpse of her face and the unhappiness he saw had stopped him cold.

      He thought about it for a moment and then said, “I thought you were lonely.”

      She reared her head back. “What?”

      “Sometimes when you stared out your window, you looked—I dunno.”

      “You saw me at the window—” She briefly covered her mouth. “You never let on.”

      He shrugged. “You would have been embarrassed.”

      She laughed softly. “Yeah. So you knew I had a crush on you all along.”

      “I really didn’t think about it,” he said and she frowned. He hadn’t meant the comment as a dismissal, but if she took it that way so be it. “Look, you want to get out of here. It’s getting noisy.”

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