I grab the phone from her hand, knowing she might do that. “Chase?”
“Hi, Cubby. Just got your message.”
“And youcalled?” I ask, almost yelling the word.
There’s a pause, and then his voice comes out embarrassed. “Aw, shit. I’m sorry. Calling isn’t casual.”
“No, no, no!” I correct him. “It’s not that. It’s just that usually you only call someone after they text you if there’s something wrong.”
Another couple of seconds of silence go by before he answers. “Really?”
“Okay. Well, maybe not in a place where everyone still calls each other on the phone.”
“Bad reception.”
“Of course.”
I catch my reflection in the mirror and see that I’m grinning. We’re miscommunicating and talking in circles, but Chase is being cute, and I love the way his deep voice sounds in my ear.
“I’m glad you called,” I say, cutting through all the rest of it.
“Oh. Good.” He clears his throat. “I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to, but then you texted. Anyway, yeah. I’ve got a couple afternoons free this week. Thought I might show you around town, if you want.”
I’m caught off guard. In my head, hanging out with him means getting naked. We’re just hooking up, which means this is about sex, not getting to know each other. But Chase is on a different speed than I am.
There’s something so gentlemanly about wanting to show me around town. He’s a heretofore straight guy, and I’m always me, and I’m just glad he’s not the kind to be hung up about any of that.
I glance at the schedule. “I do have a little recreation time on my schedule. Maybe Thursday, around one?”
Recreation time wasn’t necessarily supposed to be date time, but it’s not conflicting with any of my actual work, and I’m not about to turn Chase down for a lunch date.
“One o’clock,” he agrees. “See you then, Cubby.”
* * *
CHASE
From noon on that Thursday, I catch myself looking out the window of the shop every five seconds, hoping Cubby will appear. Hooking up with him just made it harder to put him out of my mind, but Sully tells me I shouldn’t worry about it. If I’m having fun, I should just enjoy myself.
I’m not sure that’s really the right word—fun. It wasn’t not fun, but it was a hell of a lot of other things too.
The door to the shop flies open, and Cubby steps in. He’s wearing an oversized pair of sunglasses, a shirt that only goes down to his belly button, and cargo shorts. “One o’clock, on the dot,” he says brightly. “I figured you were probably that kind of guy.”
I smile and step out from behind the counter. “Good to see you.”
Cubby poses, lifting both hands in the air and spinning slowly. “You like my look? It’s crop-top summer.”
“Oh. I hadn’t heard that.”
Cubby laughs and takes me in a big hug. “It’s not really an official holiday or whatever,” he says, then kisses me on the lips and pulls away so quickly, I don’t get a chance to kiss him back. “But it is crop-top summer for me. Not enough men wearing crop tops period, I think, or people with bellies.” He grabs his belly and steps back, smiling at me. “I must do my part to fix that problem.”
I rub the back of my head, already flustered by how damn cute he is. “Well, you look great.”
“Thank you,” he says, pleased. “You too. As always. I see you’re sporting another piece from your white T-shirt collection.”
“Yes, I am, smartass.”
Cubby leans back on one of the drink coolers. “What’s on the agenda today? You’re going to show me around town?” He squints. “How have the gossips here been taking to our shenanigans? Any good buzz?”
