He didn’t laugh.
She sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I meant to talk to you before today, but I was busy. I had appointments, community events, and some crazy days on the job.”
“I know you’re busy, Cass. But you could have texted me back anytime before today. A simple ‘forget it’ would have worked.”
“No.” She didn’t want that at all. At his raised brow, she said, “I want you to come to dinner tonight.”
“You sure? Or do you mean you want me to come again?” He smirked. “Because you give me a little time, I can. Easily.” His humor faded. “Is that why I got the little demonstration against the wall? To remind me we’re only hanging for sex?”
“No.” She flushed. “Look, I came over to apologize. I’m really sorry for acting all weird. I didn’t mean to blow you.”
“Sure. You just fell, open-mouthed, onto my dick.”
She coughed to hide the laughter burbling inside. “No, I, um, no.” He didn’t appear to be amused, so she cleared her throat and explained, “I do want you to come to dinner with me tonight. And I’m sorry if the blow job was out of place.”
“Out of place?” His voice rose embarrassingly high. He scrubbed his eyes, sat up straight, and stared at her. “I came so hard I almost blacked out. That was fine. I mean, an explanation or warning beforehand would have been nice is all. You can always use me for sex. But I’d like it if we sometimes talked too,” he said sarcastically.
She nodded. “I know. I just… You’re odd.”
“Sorry?”
“You make it weird.”
He watched her. “Weird how?”
“I don’t know.” She frowned. “But I’m not sure I like it. You’re different. I like you. I don’t know.” She made little sense.
He seemed to understand though. He nodded. “I am different.” Instead of asking for more explanations, he smiled. “Do you like the cocoa? It’s got a peppermint taste I love.”
“It’s actually pretty good.”
He had a goofy look on his face as he watched her sip some more.
She frowned. “What?”
“Nothing.” He sat back and kicked his feet up on the coffee table, suddenly no longer angry. In fact, he looked pretty satisfied with himself. “Do you want to clue me into what to expect tonight? Are we pretending to be dating or what? Or are you just showing me off to your friends?”
“Showing you off? Please.” She chuckled. “Like I told you before, you coming as my date keeps my friend Shannon off my butt.”
“I thought she was Jed’s wife.”
“She can’t be my friend too?”
“Well, sure. But you seem like the type to…”
“The type to what?”
He groaned. “Forget it. You’ll just get mad at me again.”
“Say it, Revere.”
“Fine.” He sighed. “You’re hot. Sexy. A lot of women are threatened by that. I know Nat and Lori get pushback from some of the guys’ wives. Or at least Nat used to, but she’s married now, so it settled down. But Lori still gets some grief at barbecues from some of the wives and girlfriends. It’s not fair, but it’s a reality for women working in a male-dominated field.”
She blinked. “You’re pretty observant.”
“I have a lot of friends who are women. Justfriends,” he emphasized. “When I was in the Air Force, it was the same thing. I understand it because in the Air Force, a lot of my friends’ boyfriends and husbands would be jealous ofme. At least until I met them and showed them I respect the ring. I don’t care how unhappy a woman might be. If she’s married, she’s off limits.”
“Good. Remember that. Shannon’s cute, and Jed’s protective. Try not to flirt too much.”
