“It’s fine. I’m not picky.”
When the table is set and a platter of delicious-looking quesadillas is planted in the center, she moves to take a seat. I hold out a chair for her. She smiles up into my eyes and gives me a shy Thank you.
Of course, it makes me want to brush everything off the table and throw her up onto it instead. But I don’t. I just want to.
She says a quick grace before nodding toward the plate of food. “Dig in.”
“Ladies first.”
She grins again. I wonder if this delicate game of cat-and-mouse is charming her as much as it’s driving me crazy. For some reason, I think it probably is. And it just makes me want to do it all the more.
She serves herself a quesadilla and I get mine. I’ll admit that the first bite nearly made my eyes roll back in my head.
“Holy shit! You weren’t kidding! These are amazing.”
She smiles happily. “I’m glad you like them.”
“If I’m ever on death row and get a last meal, I’m requesting some of these.”
“So you think about prison a lot, do you?”
“Heh. Not that kind of prison.” I want to add that there are all types of prisons, but I don’t. “So, what are you up to today? No riding?”
“How’d you know?”
I lean to the side and glance down at her smooth legs. “Shorts.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, no riding today. I’ve been cooped up in the office all morning looking at pedigrees.”
“Exciting stuff.”
“You have no idea.”
She says it so dryly, I chuckle.
Her eyes dart up to me a couple times and I get the feeling she has something on her mind. Rather than pressing her, I just sit quietly and wait for her to get around to it.
“So, um, your friend, Rusty, what’s his deal? Does he have a girlfriend?”
Of all the things I might’ve expected her to say, that was nowhere in the mix. In fact, it was light years away from the furthest thing from my mind. And I would’ve thought it would be the same for her. But I’d have been wrong.
It annoys me that her question stings. Bitterly. Somewhere deep in my chest.
“No, no girlfriend. Why? Are you looking for a hook-up?”
I smile and try to be nonchalant. I hope it’s more convincing than I imagine it to be.
Her mouth falls open a little and she looks at me blankly for a few seconds. Then her eyes widen. “What? Me? No!”
“Oh,” I say, more relieved than I care to admit. “Who then?”
“My friend, Jenna.”
“The one whose boyfriend is getting Rus to fix his car?”
She wrinkles her nose and cringes. “Yeah, that one.”
“Wow. Um, okay.”
“It’s not what you think. They aren’t exclusive. They have agreed to date other people, too.”
“And how is he gonna feel about one of those ‘other people’ being the guy that’s working on his car?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m just the messenger.”
“What’s the message?”
“She wants me to have you bring him out here one night so we can all hang out and she can get to know him.”
Talk about your golden opportunities! Dangerous ones, too. Red flags start popping up all over the place, but I completely ignore them. The only thing on my mind is spending an evening with Cami.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, I thought maybe we could hang out down here. Maybe have a beer and play some cards or something. I don’t know. Nothing too…”
“Too what?”
“Too…intimate or date-ish.”
“Date-ish?” I ask, smiling. There’s something so cute and adorable about the way she says things sometimes.
“Yeah, date-ish. I have a fondness for non-words. You got a problem with that?” she teases with mock bravado.
“No, ma’am,” I say, holding up my hands in surrender.
“Good, so, you know, something casual and fun. That’s it.”
“And what’s your father going to say about this?” I ask, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest.
“Well, here’s the thing. He’ll be out of town for a couple days, going up North to check on a couple horses before those buyers come down. I thought we could do it then. He wouldn’t even have to know.”
“Hiding things from Daddy? Ooo, I like it. Sounds dirty. And forbidden.”
It makes me think of sneaking into her room in the middle of the night, when the house is still and she’s asleep. Waking her up with a kiss and peeling whatever she sleeps in off her body. Unless she sleeps in the nude…
I don’t mean to groan out loud. It just slips out.
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, uh, nothing. Sorry. Just thinking. Um, that sounds fine. I’m sure Rus will be fine with it. I think everyone but her boyfriend saw him drooling over her.”
She laughs. “Yeah, I think so.” We both get quiet and she finally clears her throat and asks, “So how about Sunday night?”
“You know Sooty might be back by then, right?”
“Well, if he is, he’ll be in his apartment. What time does he usually turn in?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m not usually here at night. I think he tries to finish up by six or so every evening.”
“That works. We could just come down about eight or so.”
“Okay, we’ll give it a shot.”
“Here’s the thing, though. Can you just tell Rusty that you want him to come hang out? Jenna doesn’t want him to think he’s being, like, set up or anything.”
“I can do that.”
“You think he’ll come?”
“For free beer? Oh, hell yeah. Rusty’s a cheap date.”
“How ‘bout you? Are you a cheap date?”
“I’m even cheaper than that. I’ve been known to work for kisses before.”
She leans back in her chair, too. A smile plays around the edges of her mouth. “Really?”
“No, I never work for kisses. But I’d be willing to make an exception.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - Cami
I know why I’m so nervous. Somehow—and I’m still not sure whose willpower I’m using—I’ve managed to stay away from the stable for two whole days. Of course, it helped knowing that I had definite plans to see Trick tonight with Jenna and Rusty. Now, the time is at hand and I’m not sure my stomach can take it. I think it must’ve tied itself in at least a dozen knots already.