“You sure about that?”
When he pulled his phone from his pocket, I was caught off guard. “You want to ask her?”
“Well, sure. Why not?”
While I had no idea what kind of game he was playing, when he dialed a number, I was floored. And rarely did anything floor me.
“Hey, Mama.” He kept his eyes on me. Now, of course I wasn’t gullible. I knew damn good and well he could be faking it using some female friend of his.
But I remained where I was, curious how far he’d go to get me to have a drink with him.
“Yeah, I know, Mom. I promised I’d call, but I’ve been really busy settling in. And I don’t mean to rush you, but I need you to tell someone that you raised me to be a decent man.” He laughed at whatever was said. “No, just say hello and tell her I’m not a terrible person. That’s it. Will you do that?” He lifted his gaze toward me once again. “Okay. I’ll put her on.”
“This could be your roommate,” I told him as I stole a quick hateful glance toward the phone.
“You’re right. It could be, but it’s not. He’s a burly dude with a God complex. I guess you’ll need to take a leap of faith.”
The way he was grinning made me grit my teeth in response. “Fine.” I took the phone from his hand, backing away in pretense of the call being private. “Hi, this is just a girl who’s trying to figure out if the boy standing in front of me is as big of a jerk as I think he is.” On the off chance she was his mother, I decided not to be so uncouth as to share what he’d said to me.
Even if I was still tingling all over from the nasty words.
The laugh on the other end of the phone definitely came from an older person. And a woman. The sound was also disarming. “Oh, my son can be a huge jerk. Both my sons can be, but in truth, they have hearts of gold, which is really why they often get themselves into so much trouble. Let me guess. He likes you and is acting like a complete oaf, even offering inappropriate thoughts because his tongue is tied.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he chimed in.
How in the hell had he heard her? I was standing at least fifteen feet away. Oh, never mind. “Exactly.”
“Well, I’ve tried to teach my son manners, but he’s a boy after all. Just know this. If he’s acting like a befuddling idiot, he really likes you, which is rare for my son.”
“Interesting.”
“Now, I’m certain you kids want to have fun so just do me a favor and tell my son he needs to come home for a visit.”
“Yes, ma’am. I will be happy to. Thank you.” Why exactly was I thanking her? Oh, that’s right. My mother had also taught me manners.
“Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to see you around our dinner table in the near future.” Her laugh reminded me of my flower killer’s, which for some reason allowed me a sense of comfort around the rogue kisser.
“I don’t think we’re a match made in heaven,” I told her, but found it not only impossible to keep my eyes off him. I also had to admit this was the most unusual way a guy had encouraged me to go out with him.
Short of his earlier filthy statement.
That I’d actually found hot as shit.
“When opposites attract, they make the best lovers. Ask my husband.” Her laugh was the last thing I heard before she ended the call.
“Your mom said you need to come home for dinner.”
“I heard,” he muttered. “I did a couple weeks ago. Anyway, did she convince you?” His mischievous smile had returned.
“I’m still debating.” I handed him the phone, careful so our fingers didn’t touch. “What you said was pretty tasteless.”
You bet I was even more curious than I’d thought possible. This guy was very different.
“Yes, it was. I was overcome by emotion.”
“You mean desire.”
Every time he grinned, I was even more hooked on his smile. “That too.”
