"Phew!" I settled in Harrison's car, clutching my bag tightly in my lap.
"I take it she has high hopes for us?"
"I think she has visions of double dates and playdates." It came out before I could stop myself.
"Shit! I didn't mean we would have playdates as in, you know..." My face heated. "I mean, it was a joke. I didn't mean -"
"Grace." Harrison gently placed his hand on my naked knee. A crackle of pleasure rippled through me at the simple touch. God, imagine if he put his hand on my pussy? I think I would come on the spot.
"Relax, baby."
Baby, I smiled dreamily. God, I was so far gone.
Less than twenty minutes later, we were settled into our table by the large window. It was a busy Friday night, with many of Ashburton's residents and out-of-towners strolling around the city square.
I loved to people-watch and was often distracted by the moving scenery. Forget music and social media; put me in front of a window, and I would have a hard time focusing on work or studying.
Interestingly, nothing outside could compare to the view I had in front of me.
"Hi, I'm Zara. I'll be your waitress. Hi, Mr O'Connor." The perky waitress, who looked barely out of high school, smiled flirtatiously at Harrison.
"Hi, Zara." Harrison gave her a polite smile. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," she breathed. "I miss seeing you." She paused and blushed. "I mean, seeing you around school. Now that I've graduated," she added.
Was I invisible? Zara barely spared me a glance, and I noticed she had only placed one menu down. In front of Harrison.
"Hi! Can I get a menu, please? Harrison, you want a jug of water?"
"Yes, please. Oh, Zara, this is Grace Linwood. We went to school with your older brother. How is Leo?"
Zara's face fell. To her credit, she offered me a polite smile, if not a little dimmer than the one she had graced Harrison. She slowly handed me a menu. "Hi. Um, yeah. He's good. I'll get your water jug. I'll be back to take your order."
I flicked Harrison a teasing smile. "Hi, Mr O'Connor. How do I get extra credit?" I fluttered my lashes at him
"Okay, first of all,gross."
I laughed at his fake outrage. "Do you get that a lot? Crushes from school girls?"
"Uh, yeah. Downside for being one of the only male in their twenties on staff. Working with a bunch of hormonal teens every day can get a bit…tiresome. They're shameless these days. I once found a love note that someone had slid under my door. It was....graphic." He winced before shuddering.
"Oh, my God. What did you do?"
"Turned it in straightaway. You can't fuck around with things like that. A rumor or a lie can ruin a teacher's life. Even if proven untrue, the implication will follow them the rest of their career."
"Wow. Yeah, I can imagine that. I mean, I had this hot college professor. Girls constantly tried to sleep with him. He wasn't young; he was a silver fox daddy." I gave a blissful smile as I recalled Professor Hilton with his black-rimmed glasses and tweed jacket.
"Oh, really?" Harrison's eyes flashed. "Is that your type? Silver fox and...daddy? What the hell does that mean? Like, sugar daddy?"
"Umm..." Damn, my habit of reading dirty novels was rumbled. "It's like an older man who takes care of you. Not financially per se, but like, umm…in bed, you know, and outside of it. Sexually and, physically, emotionally. Grr, it's hard to explain." I pretended to be busy perusing the menu to hide my blush. Thank goodness the restaurant had dimmed mood lighting.
"Interesting." He gave me a predatory smile as he leaned closer. "Can I be your daddy, Grace?"
Okay, that should not have sounded hot, but if he continued this line of flirting, I would need to pop home to change my panties.
I leaned in closer, determined to match his teasing banter. But before I could respond, a voice interrupted our eye-fucking. A voice that was like nails on a chalkboard, dousing me like an ice-cold bucket of water.
"Harrison?"
