“My thoughts exactly,” she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I think it’s time Dean Proctor and I had another little chat, the sooner the better. Then I’m going to go home and Google that jerk. I need to know who we’re up against. If he wants a fight, he’s going to get one.”
The fire in Dr. Warner’s eyes made his heart skip a beat and desire flood his system and he had to take a deep breath. “Have you forgotten pizza and miniature golf?” he asked. “I thought we were supposed to be celebrating? The crew is going to be disappointed if you cancel on them.”
“I’ll make an appointment for first thing Monday morning,” she said. “I just hope Mr. Berkley doesn’t get to Dean Proctor before I can talk to him.”
“I know Steven, he used to be our frat sponsor. He won’t be swayed by money,” Cooper said. “He’s a good guy; you can count on him to see through Mr. Berkley. He won’t fall for his games,he’s too smart for that. Let’s go have some fun, we deserve it, we’ve been working really hard.”
“You’re right, I’ll just make this call, then I’m going to go home to shower and change,” Dr. Warner said, smiling at him. “Thanks for calming me down. I get worked up about this stuff sometimes. I could use a break.”
“Then I’ll see you at the park later,” he said. “I’m a champion at miniature golf by the way.”
“Oh, really? I’m pretty good myself,” she said, grinning at him. “This might be interesting.”
He studied her for a second. “Do you want to make it really interesting?” he asked, grinning at her. “How about a little bet?”
“I’m not much of a gambler,” Dr. Warner said, a look of interest in her eyes that made his heart pound a little faster. “But what did you have in mind?”
“You and me head-to-head,” he said, a wave of desire making it difficult to think. “Looser owes the winner a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” she asked. “It can’t be something illegal or that will hurt someone else.”
“That sounds fair enough,” he said, grinning at her, already planning the favor he would ask for. “Are we on?”
“You bet,” Dr. Warner said, grinning at him. “Just be prepared to lose.”
***Stephanie***
Stephanie gave her golf ball a sharp tap with the putter, then held her breath as she watched it sail along on the fake grass toward the cup, knowing this was the last chance she had to beat Cooper. When the ball plopped into the hole, then bounced back into the air before landing back where it started with a thunk, she let out her breath slowly, a smile spreading across her face.
“The only thing that will beat me is a hole in one,” she said, giving him a big grin before retrieving her ball. “You only have one shot, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Cooper gave her a dirty look. “You haven’t won yet,” he said, then became very serious, walking around the hole, using his club to measure the distance and testing the wind with his finger. “Okay, I think I’m ready, stand back and watch the master.”
She let out a derisive snort to try and spook him, but she knew that there was a very good chance he was going to beat her, and that didn’t make her happy. At first, she’d been sure that she was going to win, but then Cooper’s game started to improve, and she started to worry. Now it was clear she might end up owing him a favor, a thought that was both tantalizing and frightening.
Cooper finally took his shot, and they watched silently as it rolled away from them, over the slight rise before bouncing against the hazard exactly where it should have, then plopped into the cup. The silence lasted for a few more seconds, then Cooper let out a whoop of excitement, and she couldn’t help but smile at the look of pure joy on his face.
“Did you see that?” he asked, striding over to the cup and looking inside. “I didn’t think I’d be able to do that in a million years. I was just making a big deal of taking the shot; none of that stuff I did made any difference. I can’t believe it went in.”
A wave of warmth washed over her as she watched him celebrating, and she realized that she didn’t mind losing that much if it made him so happy. “It was an amazing shot,” she admitted, walking over to him. “I guess that means you won, name your prize.”
“There are a few things I can think of that I want,” he said, grinning at her. “But I’m saving that favor for later.”
“You can’t do that,” she said, not liking the idea of having it hanging over her head. “You have to ask right now.”
Cooper shook his head. “Nope, I’m holding onto it for right now,” he said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “But don’t worry, it won’t be long before I ask for something.”
The warmth was back, but this time it came with a spark of desire that took her breath away for a second and made her entire body tingle. “Remember our deal,” she finally managed to say. “Nothing illegal, nothing that could hurt someone, and nothing to do with sex.”
Cooper studied her for a second. “Hmmm…I don’t remember sex being mentioned in our bet,” he said, stepping closer to her. “But now that you mention it, I might just ask for a kiss.”
“I didn’t… that’s not what… you can’t…” she stammered, her heart pounding in her chest, her mouth suddenly dry. “Cooper… it would be inappropriate… unprofessional…”
“Hey, you two, are you finished?” Kendra called, interrupting them to her relief. “Everyone else is finished and we’re ready for that pizza you promised us.”
“I guess we’ll have to postpone the rest of this discussion,” Cooper said, grinning at her. “I’m still not convinced kissing you is a bad idea.”
“It would be a very bad idea, a terrible one,” she said, walking away from him. “It would be disastrous.”
