Page 62 of Falling for Keeps

I get a hot flush from the way he says my name, and he didn’t even say it. He wrote it. I’ve got it bad, which is all the more reason to give this thing with Seth a real chance. I need to redirect my feelings. They’ve gone rogue, and it’s time to rein them back in.

Carson

Well, I’m guessing the date has officially started, and I wish you the best. Send an SOS if you need me to call and tell you your house is flooding.

I smile at that last one and type out a quick reply.

Emma

Stalker.

“What do you think?” Seth asks.

“Sorry, that was rude.” I put my phone away, my cheeks warming. What is wrong with me? I don’t do that. It’s so insanely impolite. Time to focus. “What do I think about the movie? I haven’t seen it.”

“Would you want to?”

“Sure.” When the weather turns crisp, I always go back to Gilmore Girls, but I have a feeling he won’t want to join me in a Rory and Lorelai marathon. Not after the way he looked down his nose at my bulletin board centered on the mayor’s dating life. I’d bet he’d find my show just as obnoxious.

But that’s only a hunch. I should probably give him the benefit of the doubt. Isn’t that the point of this date, to see if I rushed into a verdict too soon with him? To prove to the universe I’m willing to date, that I want a man, and I can put in the work to get one?

Seth keeps talking about the movie. “The main character dies and his sheep solve the murder. It looks like a good snuggle on the couch kind of thing.”

Ah. Okay. We’re back to Make-Out Ridge.

Our dinners arrive, and I glance at the bar. Carson’s sitting with his back to us. I can see his smiling lines beside his eye and mouth when he turns his head to chat with the other guy at the bar. He’s pulled a coat over his navy scrubs like he could sense my improper thoughts about his manly back muscles.

Where’s Penny tonight? Why is he eating alone?

“Tonight?” Seth asks.

I pick up a fry and pop it in my mouth. “Sorry, I’m so distracted right now.”

“It’s okay.” Seth takes a big bite of his burger. “Should we watch the movie tonight?”

I take another bite to buy myself time. I’m not feeling any sort of chemistry, but how much of that is because Carson is right there? He’s not actively trying to sabotage my date, but he’s doing it, anyway. I can’t think of another man when I know how good it feels to have one hundred and ten percent of Carson Price’s attention.

Seth chokes on his drink. “Isn’t that the guy you made out with at Demi’s party?”

Holy crud, could he not yell that?

Carson definitely heard him, because he looks at us over his shoulder.

I lean forward across the table. “Let’s not go there.”

“It’s him though, right?”

A blush bleeds up my neck, heating my skin. I don’t have to look to know I’m slowly shifting into a tomato. “Why does it matter?”

“Thought so.” He leans back, then looks at Carson. “Where do I know him from?”

“High school, maybe.” I gulp down ice water, but it’s not helping. “You’re a year above him, I think. He just opened the new dental practice.”

Seth snaps his fingers. “Wait, that’s Carson Price? I didn’t even recognize him, and I was talking with his mom this afternoon. Man, he’s aged.”

Like a fine cheese, maybe. Delicious and best served at room temperature. “We’ve all aged. It’s science.”

“Some better than others.”