Tyler rappedhis knuckles against the door, then didn’t know where to put his hands. He checked for a camera. If it was there, it wasn’t obvious. At least she wasn’t watching him stand here awkwardly.
He didn’t do this. Pick women up. He met them at a restaurant, bar, or the gym, and sometimes they rode back to his or her place together, but he never went to their place and picked them up.
He’d thought about parking on the curb and texting Emma to let her know he was there. But she’d given him her apartment number.
Ironic that this was the first time in years that he was standing in front of someone’s door when he wouldn’t be returning at the end of the night.How many firsts was that with this girl?And all in less than a week?
The door flung open and Emma looked up, bent over with one hand on the door handle and one tugging on the back of her leather ankle boot. “Sorry, this zipper has been stuck for weeks, and it—takes a second—” She stood and flipped her hair away from her face. “There. Ready.”
The corner of Tyler’s mouth crept up without his permission. “You sure?”
Emma scoffed. “What, I don’t look ready?”
He scanned her flushed cheeks and glossy lips. She wore a charcoal grey thermal top under her open puffy coat, wide leg jeans that fell over her boots, and fingerless gloves. Why was the image of her fingers half covered the detail that made his throat go dry?
Tyler cleared his throat. “No, you look ready.”
She quirked an eyebrow and motioned for him to get out of the doorway. He stepped back into the hall and watched as she slung her purse over her shoulder and locked up.
“It’s a nice place.” He shoved his hands into his pockets as they walked down the hall to the lift.
“I lucked into it. My friend Lindsey’s ex used to work for the management company, so I heard about it before it was posted.”
She was talking fast. She pressed the elevator call button twice. Nope, three times. He grinned. Emma was nervous.
“Who’s Lindsey?” He willed the elevator to take its time. He was enjoying this vantage point. Watching her play with her hair while she waited, her eyes not sure where to look.
“She’s one of my best friends. We met working together at the studio.”
“The one on ninth?”
Emma glanced over her shoulders, her lips parted a few millimetres in surprise. “You remembered that?”
“It’s by the Saddledome. Of course I remembered that.”
She breathed a laugh, and something fluttered in his chest. “Yeah, that studio. We’ve worked there together with my other friend Vaughn for almost three years now.”
Her two friends. She mentioned that the first time they talked. The elevator opened and they stepped in next to a guy with half his head shaved clutching a vape pen like it was a microphone. They stood in silence until the door opened again.
“I parked on the street.” Tyler pointed to his truck just east of the front rotating door.
She scoffed. “Who did you bribe to get that spot? I usually end up parking underground.”
“Oh, I sold my soul to the parking gods a long time ago. I lived in Toronto.”
Emma laughed, and her breath lifted into the air in a misty cloud. “That’s where you were before Calgary?”
He nodded, not sure if he should open her door for her. She put her hand on the handle, answering that question, and he hit the button. She opened it and hopped up into the seat as he walked around on the streetside and got in. The cab of the truck was still warm from his drive over.
“Should we have driven separately?” she asked, stiffening as Tyler hit the start button. “I could still go get my car.”
He shrugged. “You can if you want, I didn’t—”
“I just wondered if it would be weird, you know? You having to drive me home after—” Her throat worked and she whipped her head forward to stare out the window. “I mean after we pretend to be together, it might be awkward.”
“I’ve driven plenty of women home in more awkward situations than that.”
Emma’s mouth pinched, and Tyler immediately regretted the words. They were true, but the look on her face made his chest feel like someone had dug a hole in it with a dessert spoon.
