Unexpectedly You (4 page)

I pick up the card and glance at Darrian’s number. No hearts anywhere. A very good sign.

I pull out my phone and start to dial.

“What are you
doing
?” Brooke asks only her voice makes it sound like I just walked on white carpet with muddy shoes.

“Calling
Darrian.”

“Don’t guys have rules about torturing girls by not calling for days?” She seems almost desperate with the way she’s clutching her
iPad.

“Not this guy. And definitely not with a girl that hot.”

Brooke snorts again.

“Wow two snorts and a funny face. You are just full of sexiness today aren’t you?” I tease her again.

She shakes her head. “It’s weird that you’re calling her. She’s only been gone like a few minutes.”

“Watch.” I put my phone on speaker and set it on the table, feeling fairly confident that I have this. I’m not even sure where all this confidence came from, but it could stem from desperation in wanting to be out with a girl again. Not a serious go-out, just a regular go-out. And anyway, I was always good at
getting
the girl. I’m just not so good at
keeping
them.

“Hello?” she answers.

“Hi. This is Nathaniel. You might not remember me—”

She laughs this gorgeous, perfect laugh.

“But we met like five minutes ago.”

“I remember.” Laughter is still on the edges of her words.

“Oh, good. So I thought you might be talked into hanging with the wedding photographer and do a few rounds of Vegas. Strictly wedding business.”

“On wedding business, huh?” She sounds uncertain, but she’s playing the same game I am. I can still totally do this.
Viv didn’t ruin me forever.

“Or not. It doesn’t have to be wedding business. I’m good at killing time, too.”

“A man of many talents,” she says.

“Well…” I pause for a moment and wag my brows quickly at Brooke. “I’ll let you be the judge of that. Let me know when and I’ll clear my schedule.”

“This all sounds very promising. I’ll be in touch Nathaniel.”

“Thank you.” And then I hang up feeling completely high because I
know
she’s going to call.

“You’re seriously okay with her calling you Nathaniel?”

“She can call me Grover if she’s screaming my name.” I wink just to get her reaction.

Her jaw drops before she snaps it shut. “And you’ll
clear your schedule
? Don’t you follow any of the guy rules? Aren’t you supposed to be all macho and say you’ll check your calendar or something?”

I shrug. “I like her. It would be stupid to let her think otherwise.”

Brooke sighs as she flips through the calendar on her phone. “Why am I dating guys who follow guy rules?”

“First off, I’m not aware of any “guy rules” and second, stop dating assholes.”

“If only it were that easy…” Brooke pauses. “But I do have a second date tonight, and I’m
great
at those.”

Confusion rattles through my brain. “I’m sorry, what?”

Chapter Five

Brooke

I can’t tell if he’s being a huge ass again, or if he really wants to know about my dating life. He’s smiling at me, but I think he’s in the afterglow of proving his man-card point. I get it, buddy. You’re smooth and cute and she totally loves you already. Maybe it’s because her first impression of him didn’t involve snuffing a ci
garette out on a five-thousand dollar glass table.

I type up another quick reminder note in my
iPad and put a cute check mark in the
10:00 mtg
spot. I put the note in as soon as he told me about it, just so I could check it off. Nothing like feeling accomplished when everything on your to-do list has a nice green “you did it!” mark next to it.

Smiling at my big long check
list, I blink to him for a second. He’s still waiting for an answer, brows raised and head tilted slightly to the side.

“What? You think I can’t get a second date or something?”

He shakes his head. “No… It was the way you said ‘second date.’ Like they mean something specific to you.”

“Don’t they to everybody?” I tap away on my Google tab and look up the term “planned elopement.” That’s still boggling my mind. “Second dates are the ‘fun’ dates. You know, the miniature golf, or the picni
c in the park, or if it’s cold… board games and hot chocolate.”

A huge bolt of laughter rocks the
iPad from my hands. I give him a pinched grimace, but then remember he made fun of that expression and I quickly flatten it. “What is so funny?” I say, grabbing my iPad off the floor. I’m so glad I splurged for the hardcover case.

His laughter turns into light chuckles. “Oh, I thought you were
trying
to be funny.”

“No…”

“Oh, uh, okay. So, if you do this stuff on the second date, what do you do on the first?”

“Dinner, lunch, some kind of food.
Coffee house or someplace simple. Anywhere you can be yourself and still make a good impression. If things click, date number two is set up before the date is out.” I smile, even though he looks as though I’ve just spouted off the Universal Law of Gravitation. “And date number three, well, that seals the deal.”

“What deal?”

I throw my head at him, because
duh
… he should know the answer to that. But he just sits there like he still has no clue what I’m talking about. I blow out a breath and go back to the iPad. Nearly 12:30. Lunch hour. I’m off the clock now and he can’t give me crap for not using “work appropriate” language.

I hit the power button and set it down on the table. Folding my arms across my waist, I turn to face him head on because I’m not intimidated. Nope.

“You know… sex. Third date equals sex. It’s like the rules of every relationship, right? First date, you see if there’s chemistry. Second date, you have fun. Third date, you have sex. Once you have sex, you’re exclusive. After all that business, it’s bound to lead to love and marriage.” I shrug. “Or at least, it’s supposed to.”

He stares at me for the most uncomfortable sixteen seconds of my life. My fingers twitch toward my
iPad, but there’s nothing to check off in there yet. “You know your dating life probably shouldn’t be modeled after Sex and the City, right? And before you harass me for watching that show, it was because of my mom.”

I’m tempted to
harass him anyway, but I roll my eyes and try to explain this method in a way maybe a guy would understand. “Okay, you’ve played video games, right?”

He doesn’t answer, but the look he gives me clearly says “duh.”

“It’s not necessarily date one, two, and three… it’s more like levels. When you do as much as you can on level one, you level up to number two, right? Well… when the chemistry in the relationship reaches the point of ‘leveling up’ that’s when I take that step. I was just saying it’s
usually
on date three.”

“And after level… uh, three… you get to…?”

“Level four. Commitment, love, the whole package.” I let out an involuntary sigh, then snap my lips shut to stop it.

“Well.” He leans back again looking both amused and relaxed, making me wonder how I should feel about that. “Seems like you’ve got it all figured out.”

“Love is important. If you’re going to do it, you may as well do it right.”

“Hmm.”

That sound makes me want to take that too-loose tie and strangle him. And because I don’t have the personality to drop anything, I fix the bottom of my skirt and ask, “Hmm…what? You think I’m full of it?”

“No, just…” He scratches his forehead a few times before shoving his hand through his hair. “How has this dating routine worked out for you?”

“Well, I’m still single, so obviously, I haven’t gotten to love and marriage yet.”

“But have you gotten to date number three?”

“Did you seriously just ask me if I’m a virgin in a roundabout way?”

“
What?
No, that’s not what I meant.” He leans forward, tucking his tie out of the way. That open top button is driving me absolutely crazy. “Has any guy made it past these hoops you make him jump through?”

It’s not like they’re difficult hoops. I didn’t set fire to them. I’m a fun person when I want to be. It’s not torture to go through two dates before I put out. “Yes.”

“But, you’re still single.”

Something flames in my chest, filling my neck and cheeks to the brim. “What are you saying?”

He shrugs, then starts picking at a cuticle.

“You think I should be spreading my legs date one, huh?”
Typical male psyche. I can’t believe I’m even talking about this with him.

“Just the opposite actually.” He works on the cuticle on his thumb. “I don’t think any date should have the pressure of sex over it. First, third, tenth, fortieth… none of ‘
em. That part should be natural. Never planned. Makes it awkward. And I bet if you do see a guy after that third date, or after ‘level three’”—he does the air-quote thing—“it’s for a quickie because he’s short on time. I dare you to tell me I’m wrong.”

Is that why sex is so awkward for me? Is that why they all run after I put out? No way am I letting him know that. I compose my expression because I’m pretty sure my face totally agreed with him.

He smirks, and damn it, maybe I wasn’t quick enough on hiding my initial reaction.

“Sometimes, if you feel the pressure, it’s good to… you know... spend some time
alone
before the date so you’re not amped up the entire time. Works wonders.” He stops picking his nails and shrugs again. “Just a suggestion.”

“I take it you’ll be getting
off early today, then.” Oh crap, that came out wrong.
Way
wrong. His lips pop open in a half smile like he can’t believe that came out of my mouth. I slam my hands over my flamed face. “I meant
work
. You’ll be getting off
work
early. Should I plan on rescheduling something or do we have any other appointments I need to move, or do you expect me to run them on my own or…or…um…”

He laughs, leaning back in his chair. I love that he gets a kick out of this.
Not.
I want to bolt from this room.

“We’re good on this afternoon. I’ll be here till six. If I need to
get off
between now and then, I’m not scheduling it,” he teases.

“Okay
,” I say through my fingers. Then as if things couldn’t get worse, my stomach rumbles like a level five earthquake. How attractive.

“I need to eat something.” I fumble for my
iPad and stick it in my bag.

“Even your stomach has an alarm.”

I laugh, because that actually was funny and it’s driving us away from the love life topic. He looks surprised, and I wonder if I’ve laughed a real laugh around him yet. Probably not. I make a point to do it more, because he already looks far more comfortable around me, and we have to work together. I will not screw it up by being a tightass all the time. Only some of the time.

“Anything good within walking distance?” I ask, swinging my bag over my shoulder and standing. He gets up with me.

“Yeah. There’s a Baja Fresh around the corner. I’ll head there with you, if you don’t mind.”

Why the hell not? “Sure.”

He opens the door for me, and he gets close enough I smell his aftershave. Hmm… not bad. Smells sort of edible. And he looks good in that jacket. If it weren’t for that darn button at the top, he’d be in perfect interview attire.

“One thing though…” he says, stopping me lightly by the elbow. “No
iPad or phone during lunch hour. It’s not paid, so don’t work.”

Am I that predictable? My hands already want to go for my schedule and I
just
put it away.

“Okay… if you let me do one thing.” I reach up to his tie and tighten the sucker. It pushes that top button closed. Even though it’s not done up properly, it already looks a million times more professional. “There. That was driving me crazy.” I smooth the front of the tie down and smile, satisfied with my work. He grimaces like a ten-year-old whose mom is making him go to church.

I turn on my heel and walk in front of him even though I have no clue where I’m going. When I glance back, he’s loosening his tie.

***

Always wear jeans on date number two. I own one pair, and this is the only occasion I wear them. They’re comfortable, casual, and make my ass look like a rockstar.

I examine myself in the mirror again, bending over and doing several different poses like I’m having fun, so I make sure my hips move in the right place and my body language says, “Hey, I’m into you. Let’s make a date three after this.”

And Nate will totally ask me on date number three. I kick ass at date number two.

Whoa, not Nate…
Nick
. N names getting all swapped in my brain.

My doorbell buzzes, and I wipe the corners of my mouth to get rid of excessive gloss and put on my date smile. 6:53.
The guy is
early
. Perfection.

I open the door, and a wave of AXE cologne smacks me in the face. I’ll probably get used to it as the night goes on. Good thing we’ll be out in the fresh air.

Nick smiles, gives me a good up and down and smiles bigger. Damn, I’m awesome, because I haven’t even said anything yet and I’m nailing this.

And he looks awesome too. Casual tee covered with a grey pullover. Loose jeans, with no holes
and clean walking shoes. His blond hair is spiked and gelled, looking like he just stepped out of a salon catalog. Someone prepares for a date the right way. I give him a quick hug, loving the feel of the fabric on his pullover.

“Hey,” he says, and I step back to let him in.

“Let me grab my purse. I’ll be right back.” This is also date two protocol. You answer the door, and then make them wait while you retrieve something. That way they can see you wiggle your hips as you walk away, and you get a feel for how they respect your place while you’re not looking.

I give myself a speed pep talk in my room before heading back out, purse over my shoulder. Nick is looking at the pictures on my wall, and I smile because that’s exactly what I wanted to walk back to.

“That’s my kitty, Snickers.” I point at the middle picture on my bookshelf. “He’s around here somewhere. You’re not allergic, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” Extra good. Nothing could break the mood more than a runny nose and watery eyes when I’m on date three. Then I wonder, maybe date three won’t equal sex anymore. Nate had a point I guess, to let things go naturally. But I think if I satisfy myself before the date, the sex could be even more awkward. Then my mind goes to Nate and his date tonight and what he’s probably doing right now to release the pressure, and I want to smack my head to knock those thoughts right out of there.

“Should we head out?” he asks, eyes flicking over me,
then they dart to the hallway that leads to my room. No, no, no. Fun date on date number two. I prepared for that, so that’s what’s going to happen.

I put on a playful grin and grab his arm. “You are going to get your ass kicked.”

He laughs, but I can’t help but notice the slight disappointment that we aren’t staying at my place. Well, play your cards right, buddy, and you’ll see more of my place next time.

***

Sixth frame and tenth gutter ball. I know I talk a big game, but those balls are so heavy! How am I supposed to roll an eight pound giant ball with these scrawny arms? The Wii didn’t give me that problem.

“I want the bumpers.” I fake pout at Nick, who shakes his head as my pins reset. Why they need to reset when I didn’t hit a single one, I have no idea.

“I already asked. They said only kids under twelve get them.”

“Well, that’s just mean.”

I pull my bright green ball up to my chest and frown at the pins. Maybe I should aim for the gutter. The ball will magically turn and hit something.