Chapter seven
JakepulledhisSUVinto the parking lot of Mason Hollow Apartments. He took the stairs to Olivia’s fourth-floor apartment to shake his excess energy, and he wiped sweaty palms down his pants. Just because this was a fake date, didn’t mean he wasn’t taking it seriously. In fact, he’d suggested the idea of a fake relationship for completely selfish reasons. Reasons he hoped she’d come to understand, eventually. Hopefully she liked what he had planned for their first official “fake” date.
He pushed the air out of his lungs when he reached apartment twenty-three, and knocked on the door. A moment later, it opened to reveal Olivia, wearing denim capris that could have been painted on, and a form-fitting pink tank top with delicate beading at the collar. Jake swallowed the lump in his throat as he forced his gaze from her cleavage up to her face. She didn’t seem to be wearing any makeup, but she’d done something to her plump pink lips that made them look shiny and delectable. She’d left her blonde tresses down, and he was struck by how soft and silky they looked.
“Hi,” he breathed.
“Hi.” She slipped out of the door, purse in hand. “Sorry, Kusanagi sometimes tries to make a break for it. I’m ready. What time is our movie?”
“It’s not until seven, and it’s down the road from where we’re eating dinner, so we won’t have far to go.” He gestured for her to go ahead of him. “Shall we?”
“Sure.”
Jake used the time to appreciate what her pants did for her backside. He was willing to bet he could bounce a quarter off those glutes.
He made sure to open the door for her when they got to the car, and again when they arrived at their destination in the trendy neighborhood of Canton. Mom raised a gentleman, damn it. They ended up in a booth at the gastropub, so he couldn’t pull a chair out for her. Then again, he didn’t want to lay it on too thick. He was reminded that it was a fake date anyway; when they ordered their food, Olivia started talking about the trip, and giving him a who’s who of her family. Because obviously her “boyfriend” would know about all of this already.
“Do you want to drive us down? I realize I should since it’s my reunion, but I have a tiny car and I’m not sure you’ll be comfortable.” Olivia picked a French fry off her plate. “I can cover gas.”
“My legs would definitely be more comfortable. I’m not a small guy.”In any way,Jake fought the urge to end that sentence. He’d promised no funny business, so she wouldn’t be finding that out next weekend. Although he was definitely not opposed to getting frisky with her. But she would have to make the first move.
“Sounds good. What time do you want to leave?”
“To get there by three, and I’m sure we’ll want to stop along the way for lunch … maybe ten o’clock?”
“Yeah, that sounds about right. I’ll even have time to hit the gym in the morning.”
“You work out?” With a body like that, Jake shouldn’t have been surprised. He tried to recover quickly with a smirk. “What’s your preferred torture?”
Olivia laughed at his comment. “Yeah, I work out. I’m a runner. I do five miles, three days a week. When I’m at my parents’, there’s a trail I run in the morning.”
“Can I go with you? It’s been ages since I ran on a real trail.”
She took a sip of her water, eyeing him over the rim of her glass. “I don’t see why not. We’ll want to go early since we can’t stay late on Sunday, though.”
“Fine by me.”
They eschewed dessert in favor of movie theater candy, and walked down the street to a small one-screen theater. When she saw the marquee, she squealed, and Jake knew he’d done well.
“They’re playing the newNarutomovie? I had no idea!”
“It’s a limited engagement, so we lucked out. It’s only here for the week.” He showed his tickets to the attendant at the door.
It was a ghost town inside. Small theaters in the artistic district of town didn’t have the latest blockbusters. What they lacked in patrons, they made up for with class. Red carpets lined the floors, marble stairs took them to the promenade, and crystal chandeliers threw glittering rainbows over the high ceilings. Paying for the candy took no time at all, and when they went into the dark movie theater, there were only a handful of other people inside. He found them seats as close to center as possible as the movie previews rolled. As Jake set his drink into the cup holder, Olivia rubbed her bare arms.
“Are you cold?”
“A little. It’s my fault, I should have brought a jacket. Can you believe I forgot how cold movie theaters are?” She laughed a little. “I’ll be fine.”
He pulled the arm of the seat up to remove the barrier between them. “Come here.”
She stubbornly stayed in her seat. “I’m fine. Really.”
“It’ll be good practice.” He knew his plea had worked when she gave him a shy sideways look and fluttered her lashes, if only barely.
“You’re right. We need to look comfortable with each other.” She slid over and allowed him to wrap his arm around her, then relaxed against his side. Did she notice how perfectly they fit together, too?
He forgot about the Junior Mints sitting on his knee, enraptured by the movie and the feel of Olivia snuggled against him.
